Govt eyes GSIS as fund gaffer for MUP pension
THE government is now eyeing to tap the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) to serve as fund manager for the proposed pension fund for military uniformed personnel (MUP).
“This means we will be the ones to invest if there will be a new [pension] fund for our military uniformed personnel. We will be the ones to manage the fund and find ways to keep it growing,” GSIS President and General Manager Jose Arnulfo A. Veloso said in Filipino during an interview with the media during the 86th Anniversary of GSIS last Wednesday.
Veloso also said the GSIS is also being considered to manage the disbursement of the said fund.
“We will not reinvent the wheel. We will just ask all the people who have been just doing it to be with us. Otherwise, if they want to do it, we can let them distribute it to their individual members,” the GSIS chief said.
“As of now there is nothing firm on that and there are still other discussions, but during discussion our role is only as a fund manager,” Veloso added.
Solid reputation
IN his speech at the GSIS anniversary event, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said he decided to enlist the state-run pension fund to help in reforming the pension scheme for MUPS due to its “almost century worth of operational knowledge.”
“I thank GSIS for your involvement and participation because your experience and acquired skills has been an important part of this ongoing process,” Marcos said.
He noted GSIS has “earned a solid reputation” not only in fund management, but also maintaining actuarial solvency and strategic income generating activities.
Last February, the GSIS reported its gross premium written reached P6.8 billion—the highest recorded in the history of the state pension fund—which it attributed to its ongoing aggressive marketing campaign.
The government is currently pushing to reform the pension scheme for MUPS since it is purely state-funded thus making it unsustainable.
To address this, the Department of Finance proposed several reforms for the MUP pension system, which includes requiring all active service and the new recruits to pay pension contributions gradually.