SOME years back, my husband Mandy and I attended a bingo benefit sponsored by my college batch to raise funds for students’ scholarships.
We didn’t win any game at all, but I enjoyed the adrenalin rush in being a number away from winning.
When we had used up all the games, I said, “That was thrilling. Maybe we should play bingo once a month.” He said, “Why not? I’ll dedicate my whole SSS pension to that.” “Great! So, how many tickets can that buy us?” He said, “One ticket, so we still have P200 for snacks.”
That broke me at the seams. And that has been our running joke. Imagine, after 15 years of service in the private sector, the monthly pension just amounts to P1,200!
So this news about the increase in SSS pension staggered from January 2017 to December 2018 gives some boost to
pensioners.
It’s no king’s ransom, really. But at least our lawmakers have realized that P1,200 is a pittance.
This, from a Congress which has 292 representatives and 24 senators, all supposed to be thinking about the welfare of this country’s over 103 million people!
Truth to tell, however, all these 316 honorable men and women passed just one law from July 1 to December 2016 under the new administration.
While I stand to benefit from the increased pension, I can also understand the concern and anxiety of the current workforce. The increase is handed in a kaliwahan style, like some left-handed compliment.
As the retirees’ pension increases, so does the current workers’ SSS contribution. And there’s the rub.
The book “Pension Systems in East and Southeast Asia: Promoting Fairness and Sustainability” published by the Asian Development Bank compares the pension systems of eight Asian countries--China, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The eight contributing authors agree on a uniform contention: That faced with rapidly aging populations, Asia can continue to develop if it addresses and hurdles two major challenges--maintaining growth, and providing adequate, affordable and sustainable support for its elderly.
The book reflects in-depth studies of two important issues for pension reform--fairness and sustainability.
Despite the countries varying income and development levels, they share the same concerns--inequity and potential unsustainability.
Two main types of pension--defined contribution and defined benefits--are compared. In defined contribution, the retirees’ benefits are linked to their contributions. Thus, this pension system is financially sustainable.
The defined-benefits system is considered pay-as-you-go scheme whereby contributions from current workers pay for retirees’ benefits. Without a link between contributions and benefits, this scheme is unsustainable in the long run, and will be politically unacceptable.
Ergo, this debate on the recent move of the government to increase pensions will not go away.