The new UPS Jeewan Setu service uses Aadhaar authentication and face verification to issue digital life certificates. Pensioners must complete the annual check by 30 November to avoid interruptions to monthly payments.
The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority has introduced a mobile-based digital life-certificate service for pensioners covered by the Unified Pension Scheme, or UPS, giving beneficiaries a new way to complete an annual verification step that is required for continued pension payments. In a circular issued on 30 October 2026, the regulator said the facility, called UPS Jeewan Setu, is available through the NPS by Protean eGov mobile application and uses Aadhaar-based authentication, including face verification, to confirm that the pensioner is still eligible for monthly assured payouts. According to PFRDA, nodal offices have also been told to alert eligible pensioners to the new process and the annual timetable.
The scheme is part of the wider National Pension System framework and is meant for eligible Central Government employees and other qualifying beneficiaries under the UPS structure, which provides an assured, rules-based pension benefit after retirement. The Ministry of Finance’s UPS FAQs say the scheme sits within the NPS architecture and includes contribution rules, payout conditions and family benefits, while PFRDA’s own UPS overview explains that the arrangement is regulated by the authority and operated through the broader pension system. The life-certificate requirement is designed to keep those payouts flowing by confirming that the beneficiary is alive and entitled to receive the pension.
Under the new process, pensioners need only a few details before starting: their permanent retirement account number, date of birth, Aadhaar number and access to the mobile number registered with the pension account, which is used to receive the one-time password. The circular’s instructions say users should open the NPS, UPS and APY app, select the UPS Jeewan Setu Digital Life Certificate option, enter their details, authenticate with Aadhaar and complete face verification. Once that process is finished, the system generates the certificate electronically.
PFRDA has set 30 November each year as the deadline for submitting the digital life certificate. The regulator said missing the cut-off could interrupt monthly assured pension payments until the verification is completed. The new mobile route replaces an older paper-based approach that relied on Form E, a life-certificate format set out in earlier UPS documents, and reflects a broader move towards simpler digital verification. The Government of India’s Jeevan Pramaan guidance says digital life certificates are intended to reduce the need for in-person submission, even though they must still be renewed in line with the relevant pension rules.
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