THE GOVERNMENT Service Insurance System (GSIS) saw its net income more than double in the first 10 months, driven by higher earnings from financial assets.
The state pension fund’s net income rose by 117% year on year to P80 billion at end-October from P37 billion in the same period last year, GSIS said in a statement on Sunday. This made up 66.67% of its P120-billion net income target for 2023.
The profit surge came amid a 344% jump in income from financial assets to P29 billion.
Income from investment property rose by 142% to P8 billion amid revaluation gains from about 12,000 accounts. Earnings from general insurance activities likewise went up by 7% to P6.2 billion.
Social insurance premiums also grew by 8% to P10 billion amid increased membership and salary adjustments.
Meanwhile, GSIS’ expenses went down by 8% to P8.2 billion.
“In fact, during the first 10 months of 2023, the pension fund’s expense loading was at 3.4%, way below the 12% Charter limit,” GSIS President and General Manager Jose Arnulfo A. Veloso said.
GSIS’ assets stood at P1.6 trillion at end-October, higher by 4.4% year on year.
Its fund life was also extended to 35 years or until 2058, five years more than the last assessment in 2021.
“A longer fund life enables us to fulfill our responsibility of delivering benefits to our members and retirees on time. As a financial institution, our primary focus is to increase the contributions of our members by seizing strategic investment opportunities,” Mr. Veloso said.
GSIS’ total investments in the real estate, infrastructure, food, energy, and mining sectors amounted to P1.3 billion in the first 10 months of 2023, up by 11% from the same period last year.
Meanwhile, global investments stood at P185 billion, up by 5% from the same period last year.
“GSIS remains committed to support the four key sectors known as the ‘4Ps’: pabahay (housing), power (energy), pagkain (food), and pagamot (healthcare),” Mr. Veloso said.
“These sectors are fundamental to the government’s socioeconomic agenda. Investing in them equates to a direct investment in the welfare and future of our nation and the Filipino,” he added. — A.M.C. Sy