A method and apparatus for providing a lifetime extension to an identity assertion is provided herein. During operation a user will authenticate to an identity management server (also known as an authorization server or an authentication server) to obtain an identity assertion. An identity assertion will be provided upon successful authentication. The lifetime of the identity assertion will be based on whether or not biometric information of the user will be used by the device to which the assertion is being issued to identify the user prior to allowing the use of the identity assertion.