State-run Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) announced it has already deposited the monthly pension of all of its more than 500,000 retirees earlier than the usual to ease their burden during the coronavirus pandemic.
The state pension fund has allotted P5.7 billion for the monthly pension of about 511,000 pensioners nationwide.
Instead of the usual crediting date of every 8th of the month, GSIS President and General Manager Rolando L. Macasaet said pensioners should have started receiving their monthly pension yesterday, April 2.
“We already deposited their pension yesterday. So by April 2, all our pensioners should be able to receive it,” Macasaet said in a statement on Thursday.
“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,” he added.
Pensioners receive their monthly pension electronically through their eCard or UMID Card which are issued by either the Union Bank of the Philippines or Land Bank of the Philippines. They may also withdraw the cash from the nearest automated teller machine (ATM).
Last week, the GSIS announced it has extended the deadline for the Annual Pensioners Information Revalidation (Apir) to May 15, 2020, allowing 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, 2020.
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.
“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 [coronavirus disease 2019]. We want them to stay home for the time being,” Macasaet said.