GSIS benefits payout rises

State-run Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) said its social insurance claims and benefits posted a double-digit increase in the first 11months last year.

In statement, the pension fund for government employees said that GSIS paid more than R85 billion in social insurance claims and benefits in January to November, up by 13 percent compared with R75.1 billion in the same period in 2016. These claims and benefits cover pension, retirement, life insurance, survivorship, disability, and funeral. The growth is attributed to the increased monthly old age pension covering 316,323 pensioners, survivorship benefit as well as life insurance and retirement claims.

The number of life insurance claims processed also rose 21.2 percent yearon-year at end-November to 82,936 from 68,401, while the number of retirement claims processed grew 9.2 percent to 34,489 from 31,592 a year before.

Jesus Clint Aranas, GSIS president and general manager said the higher payout was “due to the strict monitoring of turnaround time (TAT) in the processing of these claims and the attainment of 100 percent efficiency in the posting of payments for premiums.”

“This year, we further reduced the TAT for the processing of retirement claims to 30 days, which is even more stringent than the 90 days prescribed under the law,” said Aranas, a former Bureau of Internal Revenue deputy commissioner.