The Philippine government is rolling out key reforms to expand the Personal Equity and Retirement Account, or PERA, encouraging more Filipinos to save and invest for their future. Speaking at a recent FINEX conference, SEC Commissioner McJill Bryant Fernandez said the PERA Inter-Agency Board is exploring making PERA mandatory, while also raising how much people can put in each year.
Right now, local workers can contribute up to ₱200,000 annually, while overseas Filipinos can put in ₱400,000. The proposal would raise these limits to ₱300,000 and ₱600,000 respectively. Employers that match their workers’ contributions would also get a stronger tax incentive — equal to 150 percent of what they add to an employee’s account.
The SEC is also simplifying registration, cutting the process down to 45 days, and stepping up public information efforts. So far, these changes have helped bring on more administrators, over 30,000 new accounts, and total funds under management worth ₱757.55 million.
Officials note that strengthening PERA will also deepen the country’s capital markets, pointing to Malaysia’s experience. There, the mandatory Employees Provident Fund holds around $250 billion in assets — about 70 percent of Malaysia’s entire economy — with a large share invested in local markets. Philippine policymakers hope similar reforms will help build a stronger savings culture and a more robust financial system at home.
