GOVERNMENT employees and pensioners can now receive up to 6-months’ worth of loan payments as the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) expanded its loan moratorium refund program.
The state-run pension fund said last Wednesday that it broadened the scope of the program to allow members and pensioners to receive refunds equivalent to up to six months of loan amortizations, up from the previous limit of three months.
The program will cover loan payments made from December 2025 to May 2026. Applications will be accepted from July 1 to October 31 through the GSIS Touch mobile application.
According to the GSIS, active loan accounts, including housing loans, will be covered, except those under the pension fund manager’s ‘Ginhawa Green Loans’ program, namely the ‘Ginhawa Solar Energy Loan’ and the ‘Ginhawa Bike and E-Mobility Loan.’
GSIS President and General Manager Jose Arnulfo A. Veloso was quoted in a statement as saying the loan moratorium program, dubbed ‘Balik Ginhawa 2, ‘was designed to give our members and pensioners additional financial breathing room.’
Any refunds previously received under the first phase of the ‘Balik Ginhawa’ program will be deducted from the maximum amount that members may claim, read the statement issued by the GSIS.
Members who received less than the full three-month refund under the original program may still claim the remaining eligible amount, along with the three additional months under the enhanced program, up to a maximum of six months of loan amortizations.
Refunded loan payments will not be treated as loan arrears, GSIS clarified. While the refunded months will appear as unpaid, they are covered by the loan moratorium and will not result in penalties.
Approved refunds will be credited directly to the member’s designated GSIS bank account upon approval of their application.
The expanded program excludes loan accounts already classified as due and demandable, or those with unpaid amortizations equivalent to more than six months.
Also ineligible are fully paid or renewed loan accounts, members with pending or processed retirement or separation benefit claims at the time of availment, members without a designated GSIS bank account and advance payments made before a loan’s first due date.