The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) on Thursday, Sept. 2, urged pensioners to do their transactions online to protect them from coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infection.
"Safety, health, and comfort of our pensioners is the priority of GSIS especially now that there's a pandemic. Since last year, we have put in place online methods of transacting with us so that our pensioners need not to leave their homes and just do it any time, any day," GSIS President and General Manager Rolando Ledesma Macasaet said in Filipino.
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) also issued Resolution No. 100 directing "pension-issuing agencies to adopt alternative modes of validation for senior citizen pensioners in lieu of personal appearances or submission of documents" starting March 1.
GSIS also urged pensioners to renew their active status by complying with Annual Pensioners Information Revalidation (APIR) on their birth month to ensure the continuous receipt of their pension and if applicable, the grant of milestone benefits and their availment of the Enhanced Pension Loan.
Through APIR, only qualified pensioners are paid the monthly pension, safeguarding the viability of the fund in the process.
Macasaet urged pensioners to send a text or email request to their GSIS handling branch for their online APIR schedule.
For those who are abroad, they may send an email request to pensionglobal@gsis.gov.ph or to the GSIS Skype Appointment System on its website.
Those who were previously being home-visited yearly due to advanced age, sickness, disability, or other health issues affecting their mobility are asked to request their online APIR schedule through email or text to eliminate the risk for both GSIS pensioners and employees.
Pensioners or their representatives must indicate in the text or email request the pensioner’s name, birthday, and preferred online channel for the APIR interview. The following requirements must also be emailed: Photo of their UMID and temporary eCard Plus or in its absence at least two valid government-issued IDs.
Survivorship pensioners must present a duly accomplished self-declaration of surviving spouse form, meanwhile, disability pensioners must provide a copy of their annual medical progress report.
GSIS pensioners may also apply for the Enhanced Pension Loan and Pensioners’ Emergency Loan online via the eGSISMO or email to their handling branch.