GSIS now allows pensioners' survivors to receive benefits

The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) has reversed a controversial rule that prevented survivors of pensioners from receiving the benefits of their deceased spouses or parents. The newly constituted Board of Trustees of the state-owned pension fund for government employees on Wednesday reversed its survivorship pension scheme’s stringent qualification rules. By reversing the previous ruling, the GSIS now allows surviving spouses and children of member- pensioners to receive the monthly pensions and benefits of their spouses and children even if they are gainfully employed or have other income sources. The previous GSIS administration strictly implemented a ruling that prevented surviving spouses or children of GSIS members from receiving the monthly pensions and benefits of their deceased spouses or parents if they were gainfully employed or had other income sources. GSIS president and general manager Robert Vergara said the reversal, which is part of an ongoing review of his agency’s policies, is in line with the thrusts of the administration of Pres. Benigno Aquino III to institute “transparency, accountability and good corporate governance in the bureaucracy." The directive strikes off provisions of the revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of the GSIS Act of 1997 (Republic Act 8291), which disqualified some surviving spouses and children from getting half of GSIS pensioners’ monthly benefits. In order to qualify for survivorship benefits under the controversial portion of the IRR, surviving spouses or children must be “dependent for support" on the deceased pensioners and not “gainfully employed." Surviving spouses who earn salaries above the minimum wage rate under the government’s salary scheme, or those who receive a pension from other institutions — no matter what amount — were automatically disqualified under previous rules. A government worker belonging to salary grade one earns P9,649 a month. Surviving spouses of deceased pensioners have been appealing this provision for many years, prompting the GSIS to undertake a review of its pension rules. In removing the restrictions to qualify for survivorship pension, the new board recognized that “gainful employment" does not imply that a surviving spouse is no longer dependent for support upon the deceased member or pensioner. The new board cited the Family Code, which defined “support" as encompassing everything indispensable for life, including dwelling, clothing, medical attendance, education and transportation. As a protective measure against having to dispense unusually large amounts as benefits, the GSIS board placed a cap on the survivorship pension: the total pension dependent children or spouses can receive cannot exceed 50 percent of the current salary received by an undersecretary at Step 1 of the Salary Standardization Law’s salary matrix. Under the new rules, dependent spouses who remarry or engage in common-law relationships forfeit their rights to receive the basic survivorship pension. -- DM/OMG, GMANews.TV