SSS eyes P2-trillion reserve fund by 2028
The Social Security System (SSS) aims to grow its reserve funds to P2 trillion by the end of the Marcos administration, a move that will allow the further expansion of benefits and member programs.
SSS President and CEO Robert Joseph de Claro acknowledged that the target is ambitious but achievable.
As it is, the pension fund had already breached the P1-trillion mark in reserve funds in 2025.
“I think we have that trajectory. As you know, we came from the pandemic. The potential growth after that is big. The road to P2 trillion is getting nearer. I think we are on track within the next three to four years to reach that,” De Claro said during a financial performance briefing on Thursday.
SSS’ financial position is currently at its strongest, with its net income surging by 58.4 percent to P142.97 billion last year. This made the pension fund the most profitable among government-owned and controlled corporations. Reserve funds, meanwhile, now stand at P1.065 trillion.
De Claro said the growing reserves strengthen SSS’ capacity to sustain and expand programs, particularly the ongoing phased pension increase and the upcoming microloan program.
To recall, the multiyear pension hike was first rolled out in the third quarter of last year and will run until 2027. It will result in a total increase of 33 percent for retirement and disability pensioners and 16 percent for death and survivor pensioners.
The SSS is also preparing to launch a microloan program offering loans ranging from P1,000 to P20,000, payable within 15 to 90 days at an interest rate of 8 percent a year, or 0.67 percent per month.
“Because of this good performance, our release of the second and third tranche [of the pension hike] is secured,” De Claro said.
“On top of that, in our microloan program, we are looking at lending about P40 billion over two years,” he added.
No contribution hike until 2027
The microloan program, which was first announced in December 2025, is slated for its pilot rollout in the second quarter.
Further, Finance Secretary and Social Security Commission chair Frederick Go said five banks were being lined up as partners to facilitate the microloan loan availment, although the institutions have yet to be disclosed.
Despite the added costs from the pension hike and new lending program, De Claro said there would be no contribution increase until 2027.
For his part, Go said that a rate hike is “not on the agenda” and “not being discussed.”
De Claro said that by 2029—about a decade after the last contribution rate adjustment—it will be up to Congress to determine whether another increase will be necessary.
Even with the pension hike expected to weigh on finances, SSS said it still expects to grow by at least 8 percent this year and post earnings of around P100 billion.
With the pension increase shaving three years off SSS’ projected fund life, Go said the agency was banking on stronger investment returns to recover the lost years.
