A huge majority of elderly Filipinos have no pension or retirement fund, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno said Tuesday.

“Based on the latest report of the Philippine Statistics Authority, the Philippines has around 7.6 million Filipinos aged 60 years old and above,” Diokno said during the virtual launch of the digital Personal Equity Retirement Account (PERA), an investment tool for retirement.

“Of this group, only 20% are covered by either SSS (Social Security System) or GSIS (Government Service Insurance System), leaving 80% of senior citizens with no mandatory pension at all,” he added.

The central bank chief said retirees, who are fortunate enough to be covered by state-sponsored retirement systems, receive an average monthly pension of P5,123 for SSS and P18,525 for GSIS.

“Depending on the lifestyle you would like to have in your senior years, this pension may or may not be enough to meet all your needs,” Diokno said.

To address the issue of majority of Filipino lacking pension or retirement fund, Republic Act No. 9505 or the PERA law was enacted to provide tax benefits while instilling the discipline of saving money by making annual contributions to their own account.

However, its implementation was delayed due to taxation and regulatory issues. The BSP first launched PERA in 2016.

The investment tool still was underutilized, according to Diokno. Thus, the creation of a digital platform to entice younger generations and bring it closer to Filipinos.

“According to a recent survey, we Filipinos tend not to prepare for their own retirement. Specifically, Filipinos only set aside 3.6 months’ worth of income for retirement — way below the regional average of 2.9 years,” the BSP chief said.

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