Pension agencies, banks must ease process for seniors

Senior citizens no longer need to make a personal appearance to be able to receive their pensions, after the government’s pandemic response managers have directed pension-issuing agencies and their servicing banks to adopt alternative modes of validation for the elderly.

In an interview with PTV4 on Friday, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) considered the health and safety of senior citizen pensioners in its latest issuance, Resolution No. 100.

As pensioners are mostly senior citizens, they are not allowed to leave their homes. Under the IATF’s Resolution No. 79, any person 65 years old and above “shall be required to remain in their residences at all times, except when indispensable under the circumstances for obtaining essential goods and services or for work in permitted industries and offices.”

Roque said “To ensure their health and safety, this resolution was approved so that they would not need to make a personal appearance in banks and other institutions to be able to get their pension.”

He said government agencies concerned must each issue a memorandum circular for the implementation of the resolution by March 1. —Leila B. Salaverria