CSC takes up GSIS members’ concerns

The Civil Service Commission (CSC) has taken upon itself the task of addressing the concerns of Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) members and is working closely with the state insurance entity to address members’ issues that were brought to the attention of the CSC and subsequently communicated with the pension fund for appropriate action.

The two agencies have formed a joint committee composed of key executives from the GSIS—headed by Executive Vice President for Operations Consuelo Manansala—and the CSC—headed by Asst. Commissioner Anicia de Lima—to thresh out concerns from different sectors of the government through a series of meetings.

One of the issues discussed relates to members soon to be retiring who have concerns about their unposted GSIS records. In response, the GSIS is reminding agencies to submit the names as well as the applications of employees who will avail themselves of early retirement 60 days prior to their preferred retirement date to facilitate the reconciliation of the members’ accounts.

The pension fund added that the early notification mechanism will ensure the judicious settlement of their retirement benefits.

GSIS President and General Manager Winston Garcia said the full compliance of all agencies concerned is crucial in ensuring the success of the program, especially in meeting the GSIS’s aforementioned objectives.

“The success of this activity would require the cooperation and full support of all agencies by providing us the names of their employees below 65 years old who intend to avail of early retirement,” he said.

Consequently, members who will avail themselves of the early retirement program are required to submit their application as endorsed by their respective heads of agencies.

Garcia added that the GSIS is prioritizing the reconciliation of premium and loan payments of prospective retirees to facilitate the timely and accurate computation of their benefits.

For further details on this program, the pension fund has advised the authorized agency officers of different agencies to coordinate with the membership group of the GSIS.

The GSIS also stated that concerns about questionable loan accounts allegedly incurred by some members are referred to its Investigation Department. On the other hand, issues of the alleged inability of some members to avail themselves of loans are referred to the GSIS’ Internal Reconciliation Unit for appropriate examination. “If the CSC has any knowledge of such cases, we ask them to provide us the names so we can look into the matter,” said Garcia.

The GSIS’ problems with un-posted payments stemmed from the deficiency in its database management system software dubbed DB2 and supplied by IBM. Despite the problems with IBM-DB2, Garcia assured members that the GSIS continues to process loans and claims although the processing of such has experienced delays.

“The integrity of all membership data has not been compromised and no data has been lost, as records have been preserved and kept in perpetual storage,” he assured.

Meanwhile, the GSIS said names of employees who will retire at age 65, or the compulsory age of retirement, need not be submitted since the reconciliation of their accounts shall be done 60 days prior to their 65th birthday.

Per GSIS records, there are a total of 3,893 compulsory retirees by March 31, 2010. The GSIS has four retirement modes, namely: Republic Act 660 that took effect on June 16, 1951; R.A. 1616 which took effect on May 31, 1957; Presidential Decree 1146 which took effect on June 1, 1977; and R.A. 8291 which took effect on June 24, 1997.

Under R.A. 660, the so-called Magic 87 is used, wherein the age of the member and the years in service he has rendered will be added. If the sum is 87, he will be qualified to retire under R.A. 660 with pension. This mode is applicable only to employees who entered government service before June 1, 1977.

For R.A. 1616, the retiree must have rendered at least 20 years of service regardless of age and employment status. His last three years of service prior to retirement must also be continuous, except in cases of death, disability, abolition or phase out of position due to reorganization.

On the other hand, P.D. 1146 involves the pension benefit from the amended R.A. 660. Under this mode, a member can retire if he is 60 years old, a permanent employee, and has rendered at least 15 years in service.

Meanwhile, under R.A. 8291, there are two options: the five-year lump sum and the 18-month cash payment and pension. The requirements under this mode include a minimum of 15 years of service and the retiree’s being least 60 years old. –RANDOM JOTTINGS, Manila Times

rjottings@yahoo.com