GSIS: no “overlapping” in military and military pension funds
The Government Employees’ Insurance System (GSIS) has allayed the concerns of some police officers about “stacking” military and military pensions (MUPs) with other funds, arguing that this will not happen under the supervision of a state pension fund.
A Department of Finance (DOF) statement said one of the concerns raised by some members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) was whether the MUP pension would be the same as the pension for non-uniformed civil servants.
The DOF statement quoted GSIS Senior Vice President George S. Ongkeko Jr. stating that the state pension fund would only “manage” the funds, “protecting” the independence of the MVD’s pension.
“With GSIS, we provide fast pooling of funds. Huvag po kayong mabahala. Si GSIS po maraming minamanage fund, in salahat po nung mga fund na yun, we make sure wala pong co-blends. Kanya kanya po talaga,” Ongkeko said on Thursday.
[At GSIS, we ensure there is no co-mingling of funds. Don’t worry. GSIS has many managed funds and, in all those funds, we make sure that there is no co-mingling.]
Deputy Finance Minister Maria Luwalhati K. Dorotan Tiuseko told PNP the economic group was “more than ready” for further talks “to clarify other issues and details” they may have.
“Rest assured that we will be more than willing to talk in small groups if necessary so that we can better explain the proposals,” Tiuseko said.
Representatives from DOF, GSIS, and the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) met with PNP officials and officers to discuss proposed reforms to the MUP pension system.
The meeting with the PNP is part of the second phase of the economic group’s consultations with the stakeholders of the MUP pension system.
National Treasurer Rosalia W. De Leon stressed during the meeting that consultations are “an integral part” of the MIA pension system reform process.
“That’s why we have such forums [so we can see your] perspectives, and together we can achieve collective agreement,” said De Leon.
About 300 police officers attended the talks in person, with at least a thousand participating online, according to DOF.
Earlier this week, financial officials announced in a statement that government economists were making changes to proposed military and military pension reforms after meeting with Defense and Security Department officials. (Similar stories: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2023/06/05/dof-offers-3-options-in-pension-of-mups/)