MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang has approved the P1,000 pension hike for around two million retirees of the Social Security System (SSS).
Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea forwarded the memorandum approving the pension hike to the SSS yesterday.
The pension increase would be retroactive from January this year.
President Duterte has agreed to raise the SSS pension to provide social protection to retirees.
SSS chairman Amado Valdez had announced that the increase would take effect last Feb. 15 but it was delayed because the pension fund was still awaiting a formal approval from Malacañang.
SSS originally proposed a P2,000 pension increase but economic managers opposed it, saying it could raise the liabilities of SSS and cut its actuarial life if not accompanied by higher contributions.
According to Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia and Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, a P2,000 pension hike would bloat SSS liabilities to P5.9 trillion from P3.5 trillion. The proposed pension hike was also expected to reduce SSS’s fund life by 10 years.
SSS said about P7 billion worth of pension would be released to about 2.2 million pensioners starting on the first week of March.
SSS president and chief executive officer Emmanuel Dooc said pensioners would receive the P1,000 benefit increase starting on March 3.
Pensioners will get the additional P1,000 pension increase for January, February and March on March 3, 10 and 17, respectively.
“Starting on April 2017, the benefit increase will be incorporated already in the regular pension,” Dooc said. – With Mary Grace Padin