Overseas Filipinos gain greater access to Pera
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is giving overseas Filipinos more ways to save for retirement by lifting restrictions that once limited how they could invest money placed in their Personal Equity and Retirement Accounts (Pera).
In a circular dated Oct. 17, the BSP said unit investment trust funds (UITFs) that accept contributions from Pera investors are now exempt from the nonresident ownership rule.
Pera, created under Republic Act No. 9505, is a voluntary retirement savings program meant to complement government and employer pension plans. Contributions are invested only in qualified Pera products within the Philippines.
UITFs—pooled funds managed by banks and trust companies—have long been part of the Pera investment menu. But the previous rule barred Filipino migrants with Pera investments in UITFs from investing in BSP securities, which are debt instruments issued by the central bank.
Before the change, UITFs could invest in BSP securities only if nonresidents owned less than 10 percent of the fund. Currently, nine of the 13 Pera-registered UITFs exceed that threshold, effectively blocking nonresidents’ access to BSP securities.
By exempting these funds from the nonresident ownership rules, the BSP said Filipino expatriates would be able to diversify their portfolios and gain wider access to secure, central bank–issued investments.
“The move reflects the BSP’s continued effort to promote financial health. It helps Filipinos, both at home or abroad, build secure and sustainable retirement savings,” the central bank said in a statement.
“It also helps develop the country’s private pension system and strengthens domestic capital markets,” it added.
Legislated in 2008 and rolled out in 2016, Pera is considered a superior retirement savings option mainly due to the benefits it offers to individual contributors, such as tax exemptions on investment income.
An individual contributor is allowed to place up to P200,000 annually if living in the Philippines, and P400,000 a year if living and working overseas. Contributors may also receive up to P10,000 in annual tax credits.
Despite the sweeteners, however, this voluntary pension scheme has very few takers relative to the country’s 52.13-million labor force as of August.
Data showed that total Pera contributions had risen to P521.4 million as of June 2025, up by nearly 14 percent from a year earlier. Those funds came from 6,193 contributors, up by 9 percent.
There were 814 overseas Filipino workers who invested in Pera, making them the third-largest contributor group. Their placements jumped by 7.6 percent to P84.8 million.
Employee contributors accounted for the bulk of Pera members at 4,437. This segment invested P362.2 million, growing by 14.7 percent.
Lastly, the number of self-employed contributors climbed to 942, contributing P74.3 million to the program, growing by 17.1 percent.
