Higher member contributions pushed the Social Security System’s (SSS) net income up by nearly 20 percent in the first nine months of 2025, helping offset the impact of increased benefit payouts from the recent pension hike.
Data from the state-run pension system showed that its net income reached P93.88 billion by the end of September, or a 19.9-percent growth from P78.3 billion in the same period last year.
Contributions from members rose by 14.23 percent to P281.7 billion, more than double the pace of growth in benefit payments, which went up 6.84 percent to P223.3 billion. Overall expenses rose 9.07 percent to P251 billion during the period, driven by higher benefit payouts and operational costs.
At the start of September, SSS started to roll out an increase in pensions phased over until 2027, which was said to benefit millions of pensioners without requiring an increase in member contributions.
Retirement and disability pensioners received a 10-percent increase, while death or survivor pensioners got 5 percent on Aug. 31.
Robert Joseph de Claro, the fund’s president and chief executive, earlier said that slow growth was to be expected next year even as they set a higher target for contributions in 2026.
Earnings are only projected to increase by about 8 percent in 2026, which is lower than the estimated 38 to 45 percent increase this year.
The fund forecasts earnings to rise by just about 8 percent in 2026, well below the estimated 38 to 45 percent increase in 2025.
Earnings are projected to increase by about 8 percent in 2026, significantly lower than the estimated 38 to 45 percent expansion recorded this year.
Still, the higher earnings recorded for the first three quarters remain on track with the system’s full-year profit goal of P100 billion.