GSIS suspends benefits to deceased pensioners' spouses

MANILA, Philippines - The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) will start suspending the monthly benefits of the spouses of its deceased pensioners who are found to be gainfully employed or have other sources of income.

In an announcement yesterday, GSIS said it would start implementing stricter rules governing the release of the benefits of its deceased members starting March 2010.

The agency said it would strictly conform to provisions of the law that defines the eligibility for survivorship pension — a benefit extended to qualified dependents of deceased GSIS pensioners or members.

GSIS said only qualified “dependent” spouses, children, or both can apply for this benefit, as mandated by Republic Act 8291, also known as the GSIS Act of 1997, starting March next year.

Section 20 of RA 8291, GSIS said, states that only “dependent” spouses and children are qualified to receive survivorship benefits.

The same provision said that GSIS must only accept a dependent as, among others, a “…legitimate spouse dependent for support upon the member or pensioner.”

As such, GSIS said the agency would only give survivorship benefit to a pensioners’ legitimate spouse who is unemployed.

“Therefore, a legitimate spouse who is gainfully employed is not entitled to receive the survivorship benefit because he or she is not dependent on his or her spouse for support,” the GSIS said.

The GSIS also cited a Supreme Court decision, which reiterated this requirement of the law. In the said case, the Court denied a contested application for survivorship pension, saying: “In order to be entitled to the Survivorship Benefits under RA 8291, the beneficiary must be dependent upon the GSIS member or pensioner for support.”

GSIS said it would start implementing the policy with no less than GSIS personnel who are survivorship pensioners as their benefits will be cancelled. Moreover, these employees will be ordered to reimburse all survivorship pensions improvidently paid to them through salary deductions.

The GSIS said new or existing survivorship pensioners working in the government or private sector, gainfully engaged in a business, or currently receiving other pension are not qualified for the survivorship pension.

The GSIS will send letters to existing survivorship pensioners to inform them about this policy. The letters will also contain affidavits that survivors need to fill up, have them notarized, and then send them back to the GSIS to prove that they are dependent for support upon the pensioner, and thus eligible to continue receiving survivorship benefits.

“The GSIS was created to provide benefits to its members and pensioners. It will not hesitate to provide benefits to qualified dependents of contributors of the funds, as long as they are really entitled to it by law,” GSIS president and general manager Winston Garcia said yesterday.