The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said contributions to the Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA) went up by 106 percent as of Sept. 8 this year, two years after it digitized the voluntary saving program.
The BSP said that total PERA contribution totalled P289.82 million as of Sept. 8 from P140.76 million same period in 2020.
Since the BSP launched the digital PERA where investors can settle via InstaPay and PESONet, the number of contributors increased to 4,892 from 1,684 in 2020.
About 67.43 percent were contributions from employees amounting to P195.42 million. The other 32.57 percent or P94.39 billion were from overseas Filipino workers and self-employed Filipinos.
“The BSP encourages Filipinos to take full advantage of the benefits offered under PERA, including the exemption of PERA earnings from taxes on final withholding, capital gains, and regular income,” said the BSP on Tuesday, Oct. 4.
PERA contributors are also entitled to a five percent tax credit on contributions for the year that can be used to pay national income tax liabilities. Moreover, qualified PERA withdrawals are not subject to taxes, the BSP added.
The digitalization of PERA has brought more overseas Filipinos as contributors since 2020. It has significantly reduced processing time and transaction cost, as well as simplied account opening.
The BSP has also accredited at least 17 PERA unit investment trust funds.
Since March this year, the BSP has been coordinating with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Insurance Commission to introduce more financial products which are eligible under the PERA law such as mutual funds, shares of stocks, insurance products, among others.
Anyone with a Tax Identification Number can be a PERA contributor. An individual can contribute up to P100,000 while overseas Filipinos can participate by as much as P200,000 annually. By the time the contributor reaches 55 years old and have invested in PERA for at least five years, they can redeem the PERA investment tax-free.
Income earned from PERA investments is exempted from final withholding, capital gains and regular income tax. PERA contributors are also entitled to a five percent tax credit on contributions for the year that can be used to pay or lower annual income tax due while qualified PERA withdrawals are not subject to taxes. In addition, in case of the death of the contributor, the PERA asset will be released to the beneficiaries without paying estate tax.
PERA was created under Republic Act No. 9505. It supplements existing retirement benefits from the Social Security System, Government Service Insurance System, and private employers.