Filipinos given more options for opening PERA accounts

Filipinos may now open a Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA) through more local banks and mobile wallets, as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Thursday announced the pilot of the "Open Finance for PERA project."

Under the project, customers of GCash (operated by G-Xchange Inc.), the Union Bank of the Philippines, the Philippine National Bank (PNB), and the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC), who choose ATRAM Trust Corp. as PERA administrator can open accounts online and without manual forms and ID checks.

Cutomers will, however, need to register with ATRAM and open a PERA account through the ATRAM online platform.

“The BSP continues to work with financial institutions to further expand the network and ensure that a seamless and secure retirement planning ecosystem is within reach of every Filipino,” the central bank said in a statement.

The open finance pilot was launched in July 2025, in a bid to streamline the onboarding experience to avail of PERA, designed to encourage Filipinos to save up for their retirement.

The program complements the mandatory contributions of employees who are members of the pension funds Social Security System (SSS) and Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).

PERA, however, is voluntary unlike the automatic salary deductions for government employees under the GSIS and private sector employees under the SSS.

Individuals may contribute up to a maximum of P100,000 a year or P8,333.33 a month, while overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are given a leeway of as much as P200,000 or P16,666.66 a month.

PERA constitutes five types of accounts across five recognized products such as trust funds, mutual funds, insurance, pre-need and government and listed bonds, with account holders given a 5% tax credit deducted from their annual tax liabilities.

The BSP in October exempted PERA unit investment trust funds (UITFs) from the non-residential ownership rule, allowing overseas Filipinos to invest in central bank securities. —VAL, GMA Integrated News