GSIS says income from investments higher

State-run Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) said its investment income rose last year despite the global turmoil, citing its prudent investments strategy.

In a statement, the pension fund said it posted a 30.39-percent increase in income from loans and investments last year to P46.42 billion from P35.6 billion in 2007.

Financial data showed GSIS earnings from investments jumped 94.20 percent to P28.57 billion from P14.71 billion in 2007, while income from loans stood at P14.18 billion.

Investment income contributes significantly to GSIS’s coffers, enabling the state-run pension fund to maintain a healthy actuarial life, it said.

The net assets of the Social Insurance Fund, a pool of fund held in trust for social insurance benefits, grew by 9.46 percent to P442.02 billion last year from P403.78 billion in 2007.

The net assets will answer for the future claims and benefits of its combined 1.4 million members and pensioners.

“The pension fund will continue to be prudent on its investments this year, but will keep a diversification strategy that would allow [it] to tap other attractive markets. We will continue to defy economic challenges and improve our services to our stakeholders,” Winston Garcia, GSIS president said.

Last month, the pension fund said it earned a total of P6.43 billion from its general insurance business or 43-percent higher than the previous year.

Its insurance premiums inched up 1.8 percent to P4.56 billion from the same period in 2007, while net operating revenues from its general insurance stood at P1.74 billion, a turnaround from a net operating loss of P828.60 million in 2007.

The pension fund issued more than 40,000 policies last year, earning more than P4 billion in premiums, it said.
— Lailany P. Gomez, Manila Times