GSIS resumes payment of EC survivorship benefit

By Marge Jorillo 

State pension fund Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) Friday announced that it will start paying the suspended survivorship pension of qualified Employees’ Compensation (EC) pensioners and dependents, after the Employees Compensation Commission (ECC), resolved to lift the suspension of its payment beyond the five-year guaranteed period.

            

Under the Employees’ Compensation program implemented by ECC, the grant of EC survivorship pension, mandated under Presidential Decree 626, is among the benefits given to employees who died from work-connected accident, disease, or disability.

            

It will be recalled that in 2006, the previous GSIS administration suspended the payment of the pension after the five-year guaranteed period.

            

GSIS president and general manager Robert Vergara said qualified EC survivors whose pension has been stopped as of August 2012 and those who should be receiving their pension beginning August 2012, will benefit from the ECC resolution.

            

In letters sent recently to EC survivorship pensioners, GSIS requires surviving legitimate spouses (of deceased EC pensioners) to submit a certificate of no marriage (CENOMAR) issued by the National Statistics Office, stressing that the ECC board resolution disqualifies them from the benefit if they remarried.

            

All qualified EC survivorship pensioners will also be asked later to enroll for eCard, through which their monthly pension will be credited, after the GSIS has created their pension records.

            

When submitting document to the nearest GSIS office, pensioners are further advised to bring two valid government-issued identification cards and a copy of the letter from the GSIS for easy reference.

            

Under PD 626, EC contributions are paid solely by employers in case of work-related contingencies incurred by their employees, such as accident, disease, disability, or death. Employees do not contribute to the Employees Compensation Insurance Fund.

            

The GSIS  and the Social Security System  are the implementing agencies and fund managers of the EC Insurance Fund for the public and private  sectors, respectively.

Questions on the EC survivorship pension may be directed to the GSIS Contact Center at 847-4747. Qualified EC pensioners may also send an email to eccpension@gsis.gov.ph.