GSIS removes pension cap, widows to get bigger benefits

Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) Building. (File photo by Tubanismo/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)

By Wilnard Bacelonia, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) has lifted the cap on survivorship pensions, ensuring that widows and widowers of government workers will now receive bigger benefits.

In a resolution issued recently, the GSIS Board removed the ceiling that previously limited survivorship pensions, granting surviving spouses the full entitlement under Republic Act 8291, or the GSIS Act of 1997.

Survivors will now receive 50 percent of the pension of the deceased member or pensioner without restriction.

“This policy shift was made to follow the law under Republic Act No. 8291. By lifting the cap, GSIS ensures that surviving spouses will receive what they are rightfully entitled to, while staying true to our duty of providing fair and adequate benefits,” GSIS officer in charge President and General Manager Juliet Bautista said in a news release Friday.

Under the old policy, survivorship pensions were capped at 50 percent of the salary of an undersecretary (Step 8), limiting the amount that survivors could claim.

With the reform, pensions will be automatically recomputed for those affected by the previous cap, while future survivors will likewise receive the full entitlement.

The GSIS assured its 1.8 million active members and nearly 450,000 pensioners that its fund remains financially stable and capable of supporting the policy change.