The Social Security System (SSS) said July 31 that it will implement a landmark Pension Reform Program (PRP) starting this September and will not necessitate any contribution increase.
The program features a structured, three-year increase in pensions for all SSS pensioners – the first multi-year adjustment of its kind in the institution’s 68-year history.
The increases will be implemented in three annual tranches every September.
For pensioners as of Aug. 31, 2025, there will be a 10 percent increase for retirement and disability pensioners, and five percent increase in pension to be received by death or survivor pensioners, starting this September.
Similar range of increases will take effect in Sept. 2026 and Sept. 2027.
After three years, pensions will have increased by approximately 33 percent for retirement/disability pensioners and 16 percent for death/survivor pensioners, the SSS said.
It clarified that the PRP implementation will not necessitate any contribution increase, unlike the P1,000 additional benefit allowance given to all pensioners starting 2017 that immediately required contribution increases to restore financial stability to the SSS fund.
“We’ve heard the clamor for higher pensions loud and clear,” SSS president and chief executive officer Robert Joseph De Claro said in a statement. “After careful actuarial review, we are rolling out a rational and sustainable pension increase that uplifts all pensioners without compromising the fund’s actuarial soundness.”
“Our actuarial team confirms that the fund remains financially sound,” De Claro stressed. “We are committed to restoring fund life back to 2053 through coverage expansion and improved collection efficiency.”
The reform will benefit over 3.8 million pensioners, including 2.6 million retirement/disability pensioners and 1.2 million survivor pensioners, and is projected to inject P92.8 billion into the economy from 2025 to 2027.
The PRP aims to uplift all pensioners through inclusive benefit adjustments, recover from inflation to protect purchasing power, and promote the value of working, saving, investing, and prospering, the SSS said.
It marks a historic step toward a more inclusive and responsive social security system—one that protects the dignity and well-being of Filipino retirees and their families, it added. ||
