The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) expanded its Balik Ginhawa loan moratorium program to allow state workers and pensioners to claim cash refunds equivalent to up to six months of amortizations.

Under the enhanced program, also known as Balik Ginhawa 2, qualified borrowers can recover eligible loan payments made between December 2025 and May 2026. The state-run pension fund will accept applications through its GSIS Touch mobile application from July 1 until Oct. 31, 2026.

“The GSIS continues to broaden programs that provide true relief to our members and pensioners,” Jose Arnulfo Veloso, the pension fund's president and general manager, said in a statement.

“Balik Ginhawa 2 was designed to give our members and pensioners additional financial breathing room. Through the enhanced program, qualified borrowers may recover up to six months of loan amortizations and use the refunded amount for their immediate needs.” he added.

The initiative builds on an initial relief package rolled out earlier this year, which originally capped cash refunds at three months of payments. Borrowers who already received a payout under the first phase will see that amount deducted from their total under the expanded phase. However, members who received less than the full three-month benefit in the first rollout can claim the remaining balance on top of the three new months offered, up to the six-month ceiling.

Unlike traditional debt moratoriums that halt active payroll deductions, the GSIS program functions as a modified relief scheme. State workers will continue to see regular monthly loan deductions from their salaries, but the agency will return the accumulated amounts in a lump-sum cash refund.

Veloso clarified that skipping payments during the covered months will not result in penalties or be classified as loan arrears, as the period falls under an official government moratorium.

The expanded program covers active accounts, including housing loans. It excludes the fund's green energy credit lines, specifically the Ginhawa Solar Energy Loan and the Ginhawa Bike and E-Mobility Loan.

Accounts already classified as due and demandable—defined as having unpaid amortizations exceeding six months—are excluded from the refund. The GSIS will also deny applications from members with pending or processed retirement and separation claims, those whose accounts are fully paid or renewed, and borrowers without an active, designated GSIS bank account. Advance payments made before a loan’s first official due date are likewise ineligible, as the fund treats those as direct principal reductions rather than standard monthly amortizations.

The state pension fund emphasized that the refund mechanism is voluntary and will not be automated. Eligible borrowers must manually apply via the mobile app, with all approved cash refunds credited directly to their designated bank accounts.