Pensioners no longer required to visit GSIS

MANILA, Philippines—The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) has announced that local pensioners no longer need to visit its offices and line up at the GSIS Wireless Automated Processing System (GWAPS) kiosks on their birth month.

GSIS President and General Manager Robert G. Vergara made the announcement at the induction of the officers of the Philippine Government Retirees Association (PGRA) in Pasay City last week.

“We don’t want to subject our local pensioners to any inconvenience given their old age and fragile state of health,” Vergara explained.

Since May 1, 2011, more than 300,000 old-age and survivorship pensioners have benefited from the removal of the Annual Renewal of  Active Status (ARAS), a requirement for pensioners to ensure the continued receipt of their pension.

Instead of requiring pensioners to appear in the GSIS, the pension fund has forged a partnership with the National Statistics Office and the Local Civil Registry to determine the status of GSIS pensioners.

Vergara pointed out however that pensioners living abroad are still required to renew their active status via video call or through Skype, a web-based software that allows users to call, free of charge, through the Internet.

Along with the removal of the ARAS, the GSIS has renewed its partnership with the Land Bank of the Philippines as an alternative servicing bank for its members and pensioners.

“Aside from the Union Bank’s network, both our pensioners and active members now have the option to use for their GSIS transactions Land Bank’s nearly 1,000 ATMs deployed across the country, 70 percent of which are in the provinces,” Vergara said.

The GSIS has also installed nearly 500 additional GWAPS kiosks nationwide where pensioners can check their records and apply for pension loans.