GSIS to release P3.2B in pensioners’ cash gift

STATE pension fund Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) has announced it will begin distributing a total of P3.2-billion Christmas cash gift to its old-age and disability pensioners on December 6. The government-owned corporation said in a statement on Friday that retirees who got more than P10,000 in cash gifts in 2020 will be given an amount equal to one month’s existing pension, but not more than P12,600.

Those who received less than P10,000 in 2020 will get a cash gift equal to one month’s current pension, up to a maximum of P10,000. Those who resumed their normal

monthly pensions after Dec. 31, 2020 or the end of the five-year guarantee period will be paid an amount equal to one month’s current pension up to P10,000.

Old-age or disability pensioners who are surviving as of Nov. 30, 2021 and retired under Republic Act (RA) 8291 or the “GSIS Act of 1997,” Presidential Decree 1146 and RA 660 or Magic 87 are eligible to receive the monetary gift, according to GSIS.

Those whose status has been suspended owing to noncompliance with the Annual Pensioners Information Revalidation will be eligible for the financial gift if they activate their status by April 30, 2022. The Christmas cash gift is not available to survivorship pensioners, dependent pensioners, pensioners under RA 7699 or the “Portability Law,” or those getting pro rata pension, the pension fund emphasized.

It also said that new retirees who received an immediate pension under RA 8291 from 2017 to 2021 will get their first annual Christmas cash gift five years after their date of retirement. Retirees who availed of the five-year lump sum will be eligible for the benefit when the stipulated five-year term has passed or once they begin collecting their monthly pension.

Members who were separated from service before reaching the age of 60 between 2006 and 2021 and began collecting their regular monthly pension between 2017 and 2021 will be eligible for the financial present once they have been regular pensioners for at least five years, GSIS added.