News Update GSIS to give pensioners P1.62B in cash gifts

The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) will release P1.62-billion worth of Christmas cash gifts to pensioners. The pension fund for government employees said in a statement Wednesday its board approved the cash gift for more than 200,000 pensioners. Retirement and disability pensioners who are receiving their regular monthly pensions as of Dec. 15, 2011 are qualified, the pension fund said. Pensioners who resumed their regular monthly pension after Dec. 31, 2010 will get the equivalent of one-month current pension up to P10,000, said GSIS president and general manager Robert Vergara. “We will credit the cash gift to our pensioners’ accounts by December 15,” Vergara said. Still, pensioners who have suspended accounts as of Dec. 31, 2011, but will activate their status by April 30, 2012 are also deemed eligible to receive the gift. "Pensioners whose 2010 Christmas cash gift is more than P10,000 shall be granted an amount equivalent to their current monthly pension but not to exceed P12,600. While those whose 2010 Christmas cash gift is P10,000 and below, shall be granted a cash gift equivalent to the amount of their one-month current pension up to a maximum of P10,000," the GSIS said. The pension fund last year released P1.32 billion in cash gifts, up 2.32 percent from 2009. — VS