GSIS expands 'Balik Ginhawa' coverage to 6 months

The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) on Wednesday announced it has expanded the coverage of its Balik Ginhawa, or Loan Moratorium Through Refund Program, allowing qualified members and pensioners to receive refunds equivalent to up to six months’ worth of loan payments made from December 2025 to May 2026.

“Balik Ginhawa 2 was designed to give our members and pensioners additional financial breathing room. Through the enhanced program, qualified borrowers may recover up to six months of loan amortizations and use the refunded amount for their immediate needs,” said GSIS president and general manager Wick Veloso.

The expanded program follows the launch of Balik Ginhawa 1 in April, which provided loan amortization refunds covering three months of payments made from December 2025 to February 2026.

The Balik Ginhawa program covers active loan accounts, including housing loans, except those under the GSIS Ginhawa Green Loans Program, namely the Ginhawa Solar Energy Loan (GSEL) and the Ginhawa Bike and E-Mobility Loan (GBEL).

The enhanced refund program may be availed of from July 1 to October 31, 2026. Qualified members and pensioners may file their applications through the GSIS Touch mobile application.

The pension fund said any amount previously refunded under the first phase of Balik Ginhawa will be deducted from the total refundable amount.

GSIS added that members who received less than the full three-month refund under the first Balik Ginhawa may still claim the remaining eligible refund for those months, on top of the additional three months under the expanded program, subject to a maximum refund equivalent to six monthly loan amortizations.

The pension fund clarified that the absence of payments during the covered months will not be treated as arrears.

“This means that qualified members who avail themselves of the program will not be penalized simply because the refunded months will reflect as unpaid. These periods are covered by the moratorium and are not treated as loan arrears,” Veloso said.

Loan accounts already classified as “due and demandable,” with unpaid amortizations equivalent to more than six months, are excluded from the program, along with fully paid or renewed loan accounts.

Also ineligible are members with pending or processed retirement or separation benefit claims at the time of availment, as well as those without a designated GSIS bank account where the refund may be credited.

GSIS also said advance payments made before a loan’s first due date are not covered, as these are treated as direct payments to the loan principal rather than monthly loan amortizations.— MCG, GMA News