HOUSE LEGISLATORS are considering giving the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) the mandate to manage the pensions of military and uniformed personnel (MUP).
“Before the hearings for the 2024 national budget, we will look at where we can source funds for the pension of our soldiers, policemen, and other uniformed personnel,” House Appropriations Committee Chairman Elizaldy S. Co said in a statement.
In the statement, Mr. Co said GSIS management is seen as a necessary step “to stop the ballooning of the MUP’s pension shortfall.”
Mr. Co said legislators are also considering sourcing MUP pension funding from government savings.
The proposed unified system of separation, retirement and pension of MUPs is one of the priority measures outlined by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. in his State of the Nation Address. He set a target for Congress to approve pension reform by December.
The Department of Finance said last week that the MUP pension reform bill will be presented to Congress by August.
The MUP pension program covers members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine National Police, Philippine Public Safety College, Coast Guard, and Bureau of Corrections.
Under the current system, MUPs do not contribute to their pensions. Instead, pension benefits are sourced annually from the national budget.
The government would have to contribute P214 billion in 2023, P537 billion in 2030, and P1.5 trillion in 2040 under the existing pension system for MUPs, National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon told a Senate hearing in May.
Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno has said that the current MUP pension system is not sustainable and could lead to a “fiscal collapse.”
Earlier versions of the MUP reform proposed that personnel in active service would contribute 5% of their monthly pay for the first three years, which will be supplemented by a 16% contribution from the government to reach the 21% total monthly premium for the fund. This would be adjusted until a 9% and 12% ratio is reached in the seventh year.
Meanwhile, new MUPs would pay 9% of their base and longevity pay, with a 12% contribution from the government.
Mr. Diokno on Monday cited the urgency of MUP pension reform bill.
“We will not dilly-dally on this issue. We will find a solution this year,” Mr. Co added. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz