State workers, pensioners get bonus

State employees and pensioners will soon receive an early Christmas gift, Malacañang said yesterday.

For the pensioners, the “gift” comes in the form of an 8.3-percent increase in monthly pension starting January.

State workers, including contractual hires, will each get a P10,000 bonus on Monday.

President Arroyo signed Administrative Order 250 granting the bonus for more than a million government employees including contract workers who have served for at least four months, Malacañang said.

Effective next month, old-age or disability pensioners will each get P7,800, according to the Government Service Insurance System.

GSIS president and general manager Winston Garcia said the pension fund board of trustees approved the increase equivalent to 8.33 percent over the average monthly pension of P7,200.

Garcia pointed out that GSIS has consistently given a yearly increase in pension. Since 2000, the monthly pension from GSIS increased by 84 percent.

“The continuously improving net income of the GSIS, even in the face of financial crisis, has been the main reason why our pensioners consistently enjoy the highest average monthly pension in the country,” Garcia said.

The GSIS chief said the pension fund manager is on its way to breaching its P50-billion earnings target this year despite the onslaught of the financial turmoil in the United States.

The net earnings of GSIS increased by less than 1 percent to P41.3 billion in 2007 from P40.9 billion in 2006.

The GSIS said those who would be eligible to receive the increase include pensioners under Republic Act 8291, Presidential Decree 1146, and RA 660 who are receiving their regular monthly pensions and are still qualified to their corresponding pensions and living as of Jan. 1, 2009.

It added that old-age or retirement pensioners including joint-life retirees and disability pensioners are also entitled to the pension increase.

Meanwhile, Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. said the P10,000 performance bonus is separate from the year-end bonus and cash gift earlier given to government workers.

“Government personnel who have rendered less than four months of service as of Nov. 30, 2008 shall also be entitled to a performance bonus on a pro-rated basis,” he added.

Last month, the Department of Budget Management released some P11.6 billion to cover one-half of the year-end bonus and cash gift for more than one million state workers.

Andaya also expressed confidence that the third round of salary increase for state workers, officially known as the Salary Standardization Law 3, will be implemented next year.

Under the plan, an entry-level teacher getting a monthly basic pay of P12,206 today will have his/her salary raised to P18,088 in four years while the monthly salary of a Master Teacher I will jump to P27,908 in 2012 from the present P17,059. –Joyce Pangco Pañares and Lawrence Agcaoili, Manila Standard Today