The government, in collaboration with the Accountant General Pakistan Revenues (AGPR), has launched an e-Pension Portal to digitize pension services for government employees and speed up the processing of retirement cases.
The new system is designed to reduce the time and effort required to process pension claims, with the government aiming to complete cases in days instead of months. Employees and pensioners will also be able to track the progress of their cases online without making repeated visits to government offices.
Under the new system, pension payments can be transferred directly to commercial bank accounts, removing the previous restriction that required pensioners to receive payments through designated National Bank branches.
The portal will also send SMS notifications to registered mobile numbers when a pension payment is released or a deduction is made.
Employees nearing retirement will have their relevant information uploaded to the portal by their respective government departments before retirement. This is intended to reduce delays in the processing of pension cases after retirement.
The government has also introduced biometric verification for pensioners as part of the digital pension system.
Instead of submitting a Life Certificate at a bank twice a year, pensioners will be able to complete the required verification through fingerprint authentication at a bank branch or a biometric-enabled ATM every six months.
The government is also working on mobile applications that could eventually allow pensioners to complete the verification process from home using a mobile phone camera for facial or fingerprint authentication.
If a pensioner fails to complete biometric verification within the required period, the pension account may be temporarily blocked. The account can be restored once successful verification is completed.
Employees must first have their personal information uploaded to the e-Pension Portal by their respective department.
The required information includes:
- Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC)
- Personal number
- Active mobile phone number
After the data entry process is completed, the employee will receive a unique Pension ID.
The Pension ID can then be used to access pension-related services and track the progress of the employee’s retirement case through the online system.
The launch of the e-Pension Portal is part of the government’s broader efforts to digitize public services and make pension processing more efficient.
By shifting pension-related procedures online, the system is expected to reduce paperwork, improve transparency and minimize the need for employees and pensioners to visit government offices and banks repeatedly.
The introduction of online tracking, SMS alerts, direct bank payments and biometric verification is expected to make pension services faster and more convenient for government employees and retirees across Pakistan.
