

The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) revealed on Tuesday, Oct. 24, that former government employees were entitled to termination and separation benefits from the state pension fund.
“Alam po ninyo may minimum na paninilbihan. 15 taon ang paninilbihan sa gobyerno bago po ikaw ay makakatanggap ng tinatawag na pension benefits,” GSIS President and General Manager Jose Arnulfo “Wick” Veloso said in an episode of GSIS Ginhawa For All.
Veloso, however, acknowledged that government employees who did not reach the 15-year threshold still qualified for benefits.
Insurance termination value
The GSIS chief introduced the insurance termination value for government employees whose years of service were less than 15 years.
“Meron kang matatanggap na tinatawag nating insurance termination value. Sa madaling sabi, ang contribution po ninyo na 9 percent at ang kontribusyon ng inyong agency na 12 percent, may tag-2 percent iyon na ang proceeds [ay] para sa insurance. Yun po ay makukuha ninyo,” he said.
Veloso claimed that there was no end to the claiming of this benefit.
“Wala pong end yung termination period [...] Baka marami po sa ating nagsilbi sa gobyerno ang hindi nakakaalam eh ginigising ko po sila para sila’y makipagugnayan po sa atin para magkaroon sila nitong termination value na kontribusyon nila sa insurance,” he added.
Separation benefit
Unlike the termination benefit, Veloso explained that the separation benefit for government employees came with a prescriptive period of four years.
“Meron po kayong prescriptive period niyan. Dapat po pagkatapos niyo umalis sa gobyerno sa loob ng apat na taon ay mag-file kayo para makakuha po kayo nitong termination value. Ito’y tinatawag pong inyong parang separation benefit,” the GSIS chief said.
“It applies to all [basta mag-apply] within 4 years. Meron pong matatanggap tutal public knowledge naman po satin sa gobyerno kung magkano po ang kinikita natin,” he added.
The documentary requirements needed to avail of this benefit are the following:
- Application form
- Service record with leave without pay (LWOP) certification
- Declaration of pendency/non-pendency of the case
Scholarship for STEM
Veloso also revealed their plan to implement a scholarship grant for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students of government employees.
“Ang GSIS tumugon sa panawagan ng pangulo na suportahan ang STEM. Magkakaroon po tayo ng mga GSIS scholars. Tatanggap po ang 50 scholars ng P200 thousand. Sila ay maghahanap kung anong eskwelahan nila sa loob ng isang taon magkakaroon sila ng 200k. Dapat anak po ng government employee,” Veloso said.
“Pag sila po ay nakatapos, sila po ay hihikayatin natin na tumulong dito sa GSIS at gusto ko po maimprove po natin lalo ang ating investment, data science management, operations. Hindi naman po natin sila ita-tie up dito sa GSIS [...] Ito’y imumungkahi na sa board para sa susunod na taon [ay] masimulan na po,” he added.
The GSIS chief underscored that the only qualification for STEM scholars under GSIS was a 90 percent grade average.
“Maliit lang po ang aming kahilingan. Para po sa talagang seryoso mag-aral, hinihingi lang po namin ang 90 percent na grade average nila,” he said.