Following the solid annual net income growth in the first semester of 2025, the Social Security System (SSS) is optimistic about reaching the ₱100-billion mark this year, which the pension fund has forecast to be surpassed by the end of 2026, albeit at a slower pace.

“Definitely, we’ll reach the ₱100-billion mark in net income for 2025. So we estimate that in terms of percentage growth of net income, it will range from about 38 to about 43 percent year-on-year,” SSS President and CEO Robert Joseph M. De Claro said during the 68th anniversary press briefing on Aug. 28.

SSS closed 2024 with a net income of ₱90.2 billion. De Claro said the agency projects to “significantly grow” in 2025.

Of last year’s figure, 56.2 to 58.4 percent were accounted for by earnings from the fund’s investments, which stood at around ₱50 to ₱52 billion, said SSS Commissioner Victor A. Limlingan Jr., who chairs the risk management and actuary committee (RMAC) and is a member of the SSS investment, contribution, and collection committee.

Limlingan also stated that the SSS will generate “a little more than ₱50 billion from investments” in 2025, which will account for around half of the year’s earnings from investments.

He reported that about ₱500 billion, or 55 percent of the pension fund’s portfolio, is invested in long-term government securities held to maturity, with the remaining allocated to the capital market and real estate.

These investments in government debt papers, he noted, will continue to generate stable income despite lower market rates, ensuring long-term returns aligned with the fund’s liabilities.

De Claro noted the pension fund is in talks with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to explore measures to boost investments, including a possible revival of the stock investment loan program.

Meanwhile, SSS has projected its net income expansion to slow next year, with the pension fund targeting a modest year-on-year increase of at least eight percent from 2025 levels. “Although we need to have our program successful in terms of generating additional collections to hit this.”

“So, we’re actually setting the bar a bit higher for next year because it will be a lot higher than 2025,” De Claro said.

According to De Claro, SSS’s net income growth next year will be driven by efforts to expand membership and strengthen collections through stricter enforcement, particularly through its ongoing program against contribution evaders.

In addition to the continued coverage drive, better education will be provided for self-employed and voluntary members to support continued income growth.

He further stated that the pension fund will focus on the construction industry next year, noting widespread delinquencies, such as underreporting of workers and their salaries, based on recent studies.

De Claro is confident in pursuing pension reforms, citing the fund’s “very healthy” financial position. He noted that the SSS has about 25 years of fund life even after implementing higher pensions and lower interest rates.