National Pension System Immediate Annuity, Jeevan Pramaan rules submission form: The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has announced two changes in the rules to provide living comfort for the elderly.
First, IRDAI has relaxed the requirement to submit a separate application form for taking immediate annuity products from National Pension Scheme (NPS) proceeds.
Second, the insurance regulator has advised insurers to adopt Aadhaar-based authentication for verification of life certificates such as Jeevan Pramaan.
“The exit form submitted by the NPS retiree should be considered as the proposal form, to offer the immediate annuity product by insurance companies,” IRDAI said in a circular dated September 13, 2022.
“In order to facilitate the life of all the elderly who receive annuity payments, the current framework of Aadhar-based authentication for life verification certification, as Jeevan Pramaan, a government. of India on biometric digital service for retirees, to be adopted,” he added.
Also Read: Monthly pension of Rs 1.6 lakh with only Rs 5000/month possible under NPS
Will seniors benefit?
Both clarifications are expected to benefit senior NPS subscribers.
Under the NPS, the retiring policyholder is required to purchase an immediate annuity (excluding cash surrender value) from any life insurance company. When purchasing immediate annuities, a separate application form is collected by life insurance companies.
“The information required in the application form is already available under NPS. To avoid duplication, IRDAI has advised life insurance companies to treat the exit form as the proposal form for NPS retirees buying annuities – instead of re-collecting information from customers,” Conjeevaram Baradhwaj, Executive Vice President (Legal and Compliance) and Corporate Secretary at Future Generali India Life Insurance said.
“Because under annuity policies, the annuity amount is payable only as long as the annuitant survives, life insurance companies obtain an annual “survival certificate” from the annuitant. IRDAI has now clarified that the signature of the “Certificate of Survival” can be taken by digital means based on biometrics. Both of the above clarifications are welcome steps to facilitate the management of annuity policies purchased by annuitants,” he added.
