GSIS: A Gift for Pensioners This Coming Christmas is Something to Look Forward With

Here’s something people can look forward to. A total of P3.3 billion in Christmas cash gifts to eligible pensioners will be issued by the state-run Government Service Insurance Scheme (GSIS).

Rolando Macasaet, GSIS president and general manager, said in a statement released over the weekend that there are 330,496 old-age and disability pensioners who can hope to benefit from the bonus. Eligible pensioners who have received a Christmas cash bonus of P10,000 in 2019 will receive an amount equal to their one-month pension, but not exceeding P10,000, according to GSIS.

As for those who received over P10,000 last year, up to a limit of P12,600, they will receive a cash gift equal to their one-month pension. In fact, A one-month pension up to a maximum of P10,000 will be given to pensioners who have resumed their regular monthly pension after Dec. 31, 2019 (after the five-year guaranteed period).

Old-age and disabled pensioners, as specified in Republic Act 8291, Presidential Decree 1146 and RA 660, who earn their normal monthly pensions and are still living as of Nov. 30, 2020, are eligible for the Christmas cash gift.

The GSIS claimed that members whose pensions were suspended before the criteria for the Annual Pensioners Details Revalidation (APIR) were temporarily lifted in March 2020 and are still on suspended status as of 1 December 2020 will still receive the cash gift if they trigger their status on or before 30 June 2021.

The Christmas cash bonus is not available for survivorship pensioners, dependent pensioners, pensioners under RA 7699 (Portability Law), and those earning pro-rata pensions. The incentive is still not available for those who have taken use of a five-year lump sum and will restore their normal monthly pension after Dec. 31, 2020.

Similarly, the GSIS said that members who retired or split from government service before reaching the age of 60 and began collecting their pension between 2016 and 2020 would only receive a cash gift five years after receiving their pension on a daily basis.