The Philippines’ Social Security System’s (SSS) voluntary retirement savings programme, known as Pension Booster, posted a 6.2% average annualised return on investment in the first five months of 2026.
It was down from 6.4% last year, but beat the 4.77% average rate on Philippine treasury bills, the pension fund says in a statement on June 24, adding that the return “remains competitive and continues to exceed market benchmark rates”.
Introduced in December 2022, Pension Booster, also known as Voluntary Provident Fund, is designed to help SSS members build additional retirement savings beyond their mandatory contributions.
The money is invested across a diversified portfolio comprising government securities, corporate bonds, equities, and fixed income and money market instruments. The investment earnings are tax-free and credited proportionately to the accounts of members.
The SSS says Pension Booster drew 699 million pesos (US$11.4 million) of total contributions last year, up 21.8% from 574 million pesos in 2024, which it credits to “rising member confidence in the voluntary savings scheme”.
According to Robert Joseph de Claro, president and chief executive of the SSS, the scheme “reflects prudent investment management and long-term value creation” and that its strong performance “demonstrates disciplined and professionally managed savings”.
The SSS manages retirement savings of private sector employees and the self-employed, with 1.26 trillion pesos of assets under management as of end-2025.
