State pension fund Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) announced that it will start to release a total of Php3.3 billion in Christmas cash gift to a total of 330,496 old-age and disability pensioners starting December 1.

“Every year, our pensioners look forward to receiving the cash gift which they call their Christmas bonus. Thus, we made sure that the cash gift will be credited to their electronic card (eCard) before Christmas this year to somehow relieve them of the additional financial expenses during the Christmas season,” GSIS President and General Manager Rolando Ledesma Macasaet said.

Qualified pensioners who received a Christmas cash gift of Php10,000 in 2019 will be granted an amount equivalent to their one-month pension up to a maximum of P10,000. Pensioners whose 2019 Christmas cash gift was above Php10,000 will similarly receive one-month pension up to a maximum of Php12,600. Pensioners who resumed their regular monthly pension after December 31, 2019 (after the five-year guaranteed period) will be given one-month pension up to a maximum of Php10,000.

Eligible to receive the Christmas cash gift are old-age and disability pensioners under Republic Act (RA) 8291, Presidential Decree 1146, and RA 660 who are receiving their regular monthly pensions and who are still living as of 30 November 2020.

Old-age and disability pensioners whose pensions were suspended before the Annual Pensioners Information Revalidation (APIR) requirement was temporarily lifted in March 2020 and are still on suspended status as of December 1, 2020 will also receive the cash gift, provided they activate their status with GSIS on or before 30 June 2021.

Not eligible for the Christmas cash gift are survivorship pensioners, dependent pensioners, pensioners under RA 7699 (Portability Law), and those receiving pro-rata pension.

New pensioners from 2016 to 2020 who availed of immediate pension under RA 8291 are also not yet entitled to receive the cash gift. They will start receiving their Christmas cash gift five years after their retirement date.

Those who availed of a five-year lump sum and who will resume their regularly monthly pension after December 31, 2020 are also not eligible for the benefit.

Likewise, GSIS members who resigned or separated from government service before reaching 60 years old and who started receiving their regular monthly pension between 2016 and 2020 will only receive the cash gift five years after regularly receiving their pension.

For details, interested parties may visit the GSIS website, www.gsis.gov.ph; GSIS Facebook account, @gsis.ph; email [email protected]; or call the GSIS Contact Center at 8847-4747 (if in Metro Manila), 1-800-8-847-4747 (for Globe and TM subscribers), and 1-800-10-847-4747 (for Smart, Sun, and Talk ‘N Text subscribers).

Photo Credit: facebook.com/gsis.ph