Good news for retirees, as well as death or survivor pensioners.
Finance Secretary Ralph Recto yesterday directed the Social Security System (SSS) to implement a pension increase this month, and to start distributing new benefit cards to members.
Recto, SSS ex-officio chair, said the pension increase is an improved service to Filipinos. It is part of the government’s initiatives to enhance member benefits in a swift and efficient manner.
The Pension Reform of 2025, which will start this month, is the first-ever annual pension increase rolled out over a three-year period, the Department of Finance (DOF) said on Monday.
This was approved by the SSS board in August, and includes an increase in disability pensions.
Under this program, the SSS is increasing retirement and disability pensions by 10 percent a year from September 2025 until 2027.
It will benefit not just retirees but also death or survivor pensioners who will receive a 5 percent increase over a three-year period.
The increase will cover 3.8 million pensioners as of Aug. 31, 2025.
Meanwhile, the SSS has also launched the MySSS Card for members to receive their pensions faster and easier. This will be the new official ID of the SSS, replacing the Unified Multi-Purpose Identification (UMID) card.
Recto said members can use the new SSS card for their pensions, loans and other benefits. It can also pay for transportation and make in-store or online payments.
The card is safe with security features such as the EMV (Europay, Mastercard, and Visa) chip and uses the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) eVerify and biometrics authentication to check members’ identities, DOF said.
SSS’s partner banks, namely Union Bank of the Philippines, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., Asia United Bank and China Banking Corp. are the disbursement channels.
All SSS members can apply for the MySSS Card if they have an active social security number, a My.SSS Portal account, and are registered with Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) or PhilSys, DOF said.
Recto also announced on Monday that the government will soon launch the Alagang SSS Discount Card for SSS members aged 60 years old and above.
The card has special discounts on Unilab products available in all Watsons, Southstar, and Mercury Drugstores nationwide, DOF said.
Beneficiaries aged 60-89, comprising 99.4 percent of all pensioners, receive an average monthly pension of P4,923.
By 2027, monthly pensions will amount to P6,548, an increase of P1,625 or 33 percent, according to SSS.
The SSS monthly pension is based on the amount and duration of contributions made to the SSS.
