Summary: The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), through Circular No. PFRDA/2026/54/SUP-CG-SG/02 dated 30 October 2026, has operationalised the “UPS Jeevan Setu – Digital Life Certificate (DLC)” facility for pensioners covered under the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS). The mobile application-based facility enables eligible pensioners to generate and submit their Digital Life Certificates through Aadhaar-based authentication. The facility has been introduced to simplify the life certificate submission process, improve accessibility and facilitate timely compliance. It is available through the NPS by Protean eGov mobile application. Under the circular, all UPS pensioners are required to submit their Digital Life Certificates annually by 30 November to ensure uninterrupted continuation of monthly assured payouts. The circular directs nodal offices to disseminate information about the facility among eligible UPS pensioners under their jurisdiction. They are also advised to create awareness of the prescribed submission timelines and the steps involved in using the facility, so that pensioners can comply on time and avoid interruptions in their monthly payouts. The annexure provides a ten-step procedure for generating a Digital Life Certificate. Pensioners must open the mobile application, select the UPS Jeevan Setu facility, enter their PRAN and date of birth, complete OTP verification and Aadhaar authentication, and undergo face authentication. Following successful authentication, the system generates the Life Certificate and displays a confirmation message. The certificate is subsequently validated through Aadhaar. The circular has been issued with the approval of the competent authority and is signed by Sumit Kumar, Chief General Manager, PFRDA.
PENSION FUND REGULATORY AND DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
Circular No.: PFRDA/2026/54/SUP-CG-SG/02 Date: 30 October 2026
To,
The PrAOs, PAOs, DDOs of Central Government,
Subject: Operationalisation of “UPS Jeevan Setu – Digital Life Certificate (DLC)” facility for pensioners under the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) – reg.
The “UPS Jeevan Setu – Digital Life Certificate (DLC)”, a mobile application-based facility, has been enabled for pensioners under the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) to conveniently generate and submit their Digital Life Certificates through Aadhaar-based authentication.
2. The facility has been introduced with the objective of simplifying the submission of Life Certificates, enhancing accessibility and facilitating timely compliance by eligible UPS pensioners. The facility is available through NPS by Protean eGov mobile application. The detailed procedure for generating and submitting the Digital Life Certificate is enclosed as Annexure.
3. All pensioners under the UPS are required to submit their DLCs annually by 30 November to ensure uninterrupted continuation of their monthly assured payouts.
4. All Nodal Offices are advised to disseminate the above information widely among eligible UPS pensioners under their jurisdiction and create awareness regarding the availability and usage of the facility, including the prescribed timelines for DLC submission, to ensure timely compliance and avoid interruption in monthly payouts.
5. This issues with the approval of the Competent Authority.
Yours sincerely,
(Sumit Kumar)
Chief General Manager
Annexure
Process for generating Digital Life Certificate
The process for generating the Digital Life Certificate under UPS is as follows:
1. Open the NPS, UPS and APY Mobile App.
2. Select “UPS Jeewan Setu – Digital Life Certificate” from the home screen.
3. Enter the PRAN and Date of Birth (DOB) and subsequently enter the OTP received on the registered mobile number.
4. Select Aadhaar and enter the Aadhaar number.
5. Select “Continue with Aadhaar” and complete the authentication.
6. Select “Face Authentication.”
7. Upon successful authentication, the system will generate the Life Certificate.
8. A confirmation message indicating that the Life Certificate has been generated successfully will be displayed.
9. Click “Done” to complete the process and exit.
10. The Life Certificate will be validated through Aadhaar.
