Bharat Pensioners Samaj urges government to allow email submission of life certificates for overseas pensioners

Overseas pensioners encounter challenges when submitting digital life certificates due to issues with authentication and internet connectivity. Bharat Pensioners Samaj suggests that the government accept verified life certificates through registered email IDs, aiming to make the process easier for elderly pensioners living abroad. They point out that a similar digital solution works for Defence pensioners, urging the implementation of this additional option ahead of the upcoming submission deadline.

Submitting an annual life certificate is a must for central government pensioners and family pensioners to keep their pensions flowing, whether they live in India or abroad.

However, for many pensioners living abroad, submitting a digital life certificate using Aadhaar is difficult and can be tricky due to issues like biometric or facial-authentication failures, not having access to an Aadhaar-linked Indian mobile number and being less familiar with digital technology.

When digital submission is not possible, pensioners have to rely on offline alternatives. These could involve travelling long distances to an Indian Embassy, High Commission or Consulate; depending on family members or authorised representatives; or sending the authenticated certificate to India through international post or courier.

Pointing out these challenges, the Bharat Pensioners Samaj (BPS), which represents nearly 10 lakh pensioners through its affiliated associations in India and abroad, has urged the government to amend the existing rules and allow overseas/NRI central government pensioners and family pensioners to submit duly authenticated life certificates through their registered email IDs.

In a reminder sent on August 11, 2026, BPS referred to their previous request from July 1, 2026, asking for an amendment to the rules to introduce email submission as an additional optional facility.

Which difficulties do overseas pensioners face in submitting Life Certificates?

In its July 1 representation addressed to the secretary, the Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare (DoP&PW), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, BPS highlighted the practical difficulties experienced by elderly pensioners residing abroad.

These include:

Biometric and facial-authentication failures caused by age-related changes or other technical difficulties.

Lack of access to an Aadhaar-linked Indian mobile number or reliable mobile connectivity while living abroad.

Limited digital proficiency among elderly pensioners, making them dependent on family members or others for completing the process.

Long distances and travel-related difficulties in reaching the nearest Indian Embassy, High Commission or consulate.

The high cost and slow delivery of sending original life certificates to India through international post or courier.

Delayed delivery of certificates to pension-disbursing bank branches even when they were dispatched well in advance.

Loss of mail, postal delays or customs-clearance problems, resulting in non-receipt of the certificate within the prescribed period.

Such delays may lead to an avoidable suspension of pension, despite the pensioner completing the required formalities within deadline.

What solution has BPS proposed?

BPS has pointed out that the life certificate of an overseas pensioner already needs to be authenticated by a duly authorised notary public, magistrate, banker, diplomatic representative of India or another competent authority recognised in the pensioner’s country of residence.

It has, therefore, proposed that a scanned PDF copy of the duly authenticated Life Certificate should be accepted when it is transmitted from the pensioner’s registered email ID, already recorded by the pension-disbursing bank as part of the KYC process, to the bank’s designated official email address.

According to BPS, transmission through the registered email ID would help establish the source of the document while simultaneously creating an immediate and traceable electronic audit trail.

“Such a mechanism would be faster, economical, environmentally friendly and significantly more convenient for elderly pensioners residing abroad,” BPS stated in its representation.

BPS has requested that this facility should be introduced as an additional option and not as a replacement for the existing modes of submitting Annual Life Certificates.

Overseas Defence pensioners can transmit authenticated Life Certificates electronically: BPS secretary general

Speaking to ET Wealth Online, Avinash Rajput, secretary general of Bharat Pensioners Samaj, pointed out that the SPARSH system administered by the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts already provides an electronic mechanism for overseas defence pensioners to transmit duly authenticated Life Certificates through the prescribed official channel.

“Since the same objective has already been achieved under the SPARSH framework without compromising security or authenticity, extending a similar facility to civilian and Railway pensioners would ensure administrative uniformity, technological consistency and equitable treatment of all Central Government pensioners,” Rajput said.

The pensioners’ body has also urged the government to consider its proposal as a priority in consultation with the Department of Financial Services, the Reserve Bank of India, the Ministry of External Affairs and other concerned stakeholders.

It has also requested that suitable instructions be issued before the forthcoming Annual Life Certificate submission period so that overseas pensioners and family pensioners do not face hardship or interruption in pension payments.