Sagicor to utilise facial recognition tech as proof of life for pensioners
Pensioners aligned with the private pension schemes that Sagicor Jamaica administers on behalf of companies can now use their own faces as proof that they are still alive.
This is Jamaica’s largest life insurance company and pension fund manager has implemented facial recognition technology that will replace the notarised certificate that they had to submit annually as ‘proof of life’ in order for their pension payments to continue uninterrupted.
Now, all the pensioners have to do is upload their image to Sagicor.
“Pensioners will be required to upload a Government-issued picture ID, along with a short ‘live’ video of their face, once a year, which will be verified or validated by the facial recognition technology,” Vice-President for Innovation and Data, Andrew Burke, told the Financial Gleaner.
Facial recognition technology works where various points on the face such as the mouth, the chin, cheekbones, the eyes and the nose, are used to establish features that are unique to each individual. It is part of a larger class of technology called biometrics, using various parts of the body as identifiers.
The technology is finding increasing application in international travel, mobile applications, surveillance, and law enforcement. In Jamaica, the Electoral Office of Jamaica and the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency, PICA, both utilise biometrics in addition to other public and private bodies.
Sagicor Group Jamaica partnered with the UTech Innovation Lab at the University of Technology Jamaica, on the technology and third-party vendor, ORBA. Sagicor is a backer of Innovation Lab.
The system was developed over 13 months and pilot-tested for two months, Burke said. The cost was not disclosed.
Through Sagicor Life, the group is the leading pension fund manager in Jamaica, where the private pension market is valued at more than $690 billion and membership is at 143,800 across the board, according to industry data published by the Financial Services Commission for the period ended September 2022.
The size of the pension assets managed by Sagicor was estimated at $212 billion of as December, according to Latoya Mayhew-Kerr, general manager of Sagicor Employee Benefits Administrators Limited, Pension Services.
The funds it administers covers 47,000 members, of which 11,000 are pensioners, Mayhew-Kerr said.
Sagicor says, traditionally, pensioners have been required to visit a justice of the peace and have a physical form signed in order to receive their pension payments. This process has been time-consuming and inconvenient for pensioners, and it has also posed potential health risks due to the need for in-person interactions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“By taking a photo with their mobile device or computer, pensioners can confirm their identity, and that they are alive, eliminating the need for in-person interactions and streamlining the proof of life process,” the company said in a press release.
“For pensioners, the process of proving their continued eligibility will be greatly streamlined, saving them time and money. This will be particularly beneficial for pensioners currently living in the diaspora, who need to attain proof of life certificates, which are verified by notaries public overseas,” Sagicor added.
Burke said on Friday that Sagicor Group is currently exploring other biometric technologies, and will retain the ‘honour system’, for now, under which Justices of the Peace, primarily, attest that the pensioners are alive, but will eventually phase it out.