Manila: The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) has announced the release of PHP3.93 billion in Christmas cash gifts to 411,692 eligible pensioners on December 4. This marks the first year that pro-rata and Portability Law (RA 7699) pensioners are included in this annual benefit.
According to Philippines News Agency, GSIS will also credit the December monthly pension earlier than usual, moving the date from December 8 to December 5, to provide pensioners with more time to prepare for the holidays. GSIS President and General Manager Wick Veloso explained that the expanded coverage aims to ensure that the institution's senior members feel fully supported during the Christmas season. "We want our pensioners to feel valued and supported, especially during the Christmas season. That is why we expanded the coverage of the Christmas cash gift to include an additional 14,992 pro-rata and Portability Law pensioners, who were previously excluded from this annual benefit," Veloso stated.
Eligible recipients include old-age, retirement, and disability pensioners under RA 8291, RA 660, RA 7699, and PD 1146 who are in active status, receiving their regular or pro-rata pension, and are living as of November 30, 2025. The cash gift is equivalent to one month's pension or PHP10,000, whichever is lower, and will be automatically credited to their GSIS ATM accounts.
The agency reminded pensioners to complete their Annual Pensioners' Information Revalidation (APIR), which can be done through the facial recognition feature of the GSIS Touch mobile app. Pensioners with suspended status due to APIR non-compliance as of December 31, 2025, may still claim their cash gift once their accounts are reactivated.
Those not eligible for the cash gift include survivorship and dependent pensioners, retirees who availed of the five-year lump sum and will resume their pension after December 31, 2025, retirees from 2021-2025 who took the 18‚¬Å¡¬€¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬ cash payment and immediate life pension under RA 8291 (eligible five years after retirement), and members separated from service from 2006-2025 before age 60 who started receiving regular pension from 2021-2025 (eligible after five years as a regular pensioner).
