Kathmandu: The Automated Pension Verification System was implemented from Friday, which is aimed at making the pension related services further simplified, accessible, citizen-friendly and technology-friendly.

Finance Minister Dr Swarnim Wagle marked the beginning of the e-pension verification system prepared by the Financial Comptroller General’s Office.

With the beginning of e-pension verification system, the pension drawers could receive the pension related services virtually. Prior to this, the pension recipients had to visit the banks in person every year to confirm that they were drawing the pension from the state coffer.

With the introduction of this technology, 352,816 pensioners have now been relieved of the hassle of having to stand in long lines at banks or physically visit government offices to renew or access their pensions. Earlier, the legal requirement to visit banks at least once a year had caused great hardship to the elderly, disabled and especially pensioners living abroad.

How to use the e-Pension service

According to the Office of the Comptroller General and the Pension Management Office, pensioners will be able to avail the service from their own mobile or computer. For that, first go to the Pension Management Office website pension.gov.np. There, click on the IPMS-V2 button under 'Our Services'. Sign up by entering your 'Pension Address Number' and password.

For security, a 6-digit OTP code will be sent to your registered mobile number. Enter the code in the system and confirm. After logging in, start the 'Liveness Verification' on the dashboard. For this, you need to sit in a well-lit area and keep your face steady in the center of the camera frame.

The system will then automatically recognize your face. Once your face is recognized, one of the hand signals (such as Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down, or Victory Sign) will be displayed on the screen. The corresponding hand signal must be clearly shown in front of the camera. Once the system recognizes the hand signal, it will confirm that you are really present and the recognition will be successful.