State pension fund Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) will again release pensions ahead of schedule in May similar to what it did in April.
“Our pensioners will receive their pension on May 5, instead of the usual crediting date of every eighth of the month,” GSIS President and General Manager Rolando Ledesma Macasaet announced.
“The early release of pension is one of several proactive measures we are taking to help our pensioners cope with the extended Enhanced Community Quarantine period,” he added.
GSIS releases monthly pensions electronically through the pensioners’ Unified Multi-Purpose ID (UMID) card or temporary electronic card (eCard), which are issued by either the Land Bank of the Philippines or the UnionBank of the Philippines. Pensioners may withdraw the cash from the nearest automated teller machine (ATM).
“We have earmarked a budget of Php6.1 billion for our 511,000 pensioners,” the pension fund chief said.
To further protect pensioners from the virus and ensure their safety, GSIS introduced the online activation of pensioners’ status early this month. Under normal situations, GSIS requires all old-age and survivorship pensioners to report to the nearest GSIS office or GSIS kiosk during their birth month to ensure the continued receipt of their pension under the Annual Pensioners' Information Revalidation or APIR.
“Now, pensioners only need to send us a letter-request to activate their status and a photo of them either holding a newspaper or standing beside a TV screen showing the current date,” Macasaet pointed out.
GSIS also granted a moratorium on loans of pensioners due for the months of March, April and May 2020 without penalty or additional interest. All loan terms, as a result of the moratorium, were effectively extended by three months.
“We hope that this 90-day grace period will give them some financial relief amid these trying times,” the GSIS chief stated.
Lastly, pensioners may now apply for pension and emergency loans online. “All they need to do is download and fill out an application form from the GSIS website https://www.gsis.gov.
For inquiries on these programs, pensioners may visit the GSIS website, www.gsis.gov.ph, or the GSIS official Facebook page, @gsis.ph; send an email to [email protected]; or call the GSIS Contact Center at 8847-4747 (if in Metro Manila) or 1-800-8-847-4747 (for Globe and TM subscribers) or 1-800-10-847-4747 (for Smart, Sun, and Talk ‘N Text subscribers).