The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) has announced that all pensioners will receive their monthly pension on April 2 instead of the usual crediting date April 8, as a pro-active measure to help pensioners cope with the current health crisis.
State pension fund president and general manager Rolando Ledesma Macasaet said that GSIS has allotted P5.7 billion for the monthly pension of some 511,000 pensioners nationwide.
Macasaet said that they have deposited the pensions on the first day of the month and pensioners should be able to receive their pensions on April 2.
“We know that most of our retirees rely on their pension for their daily upkeep and maintenance medicines. We hope that this will somehow help ease the burden of our senior citizens during the crisis,” Macasaet said.
“The early release of pension is one of the several pro-active measures we are taking to help our pensioners cope with the COVID-19 crisis” he added.
The state pension fund releases the monthly pension electronically through the pensioners’ eCard or UMID card which are issued by either the Union Bank of the Philippines or Land Bank of the Philippines. Pensioners may withdraw the cash from the nearest automated teller machine (ATM).
GSIS has also extended the deadline for the Annual Pensioners Information Revalidation (APIR) to May 15. This means that all old-age and survivorship pensioners born in March and April do not need to personally report to GSIS during their birth months. They may instead renew their active status on May 15.
“We do not want to expose our pensioners to any unnecessary risk, especially in light of reports that elderly people are the ones highly vulnerable to the COVID-19 virus. We want them to stay home for the time being,” Macasaet said.
Under normal circumstances, all old-age and survivorship pensioners are required to personally report to any GSIS office or through the GSIS kiosk during their birth month to continue receiving their pension. Pensioners residing abroad can revalidate their status via Skype, according to the state pension fund statement.
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