What You Need to Know About the 2025 SSS Pension Increase
The Social Security System (SSS) has approved a first-ever three-year pension increase program, starting September 2025. It aims to assist pensions amid rising living costs — without increasing contributions.
- Retirement and Disability pensioners automatically receive a 10% increase each year.
- Death or Survivor pensioners will receive a 5% annual increase instead.
- No application is needed; increases begin automatically if you’re receiving benefits as of August 31, 2025.
Pension Schedule: 2025 to 2027
| Pension Type | Sept 2025 | Sept 2026 | Sept 2027 | Total Increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retirement/Disability | +10% | +10% | +10% | ~33% |
| Death/Survivor | +5% | +5% | +5% | ~16% |
Comparison: 2025 Hike vs. ₱2,000 Increase from 2017
Here’s how the new reform stacks up against the previous ₱2,000 pension hike:
- 2017 Increase: A fixed ₱2,000 boost, regardless of base pension.
- 2025–2027 Increase: Transparent, 10% annual hikes, automatically applied, and backed by actuarial studies.
Who Benefits More?
| Pension Base | 2017 Increase | 2025-27 Increase | Total from 2025-27 |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₱2,000 | ₱2,000 (100%) | +₱662 (~33%) | ₱2,662 |
| ₱10,000 | ₱2,000 (20%) | +₱3,310 (~33%) | ₱13,310 |
Takeaway: Low pensioners gained more in pesos from 2017’s flat increase, but the 2025 program favors those with higher pensions in absolute terms, although the percentage benefit remains equal.
Why This Change Matters
- No contribution hike: The reform is funded from existing SSS reserves.
- Beneficiaries: Approximately 3.8 million pensioners will benefit, including 2.6M retirement/disability and 1.2M survivor pensioners.
- Economic impact: Over three years, ₱92.8 billion more will flow into the economy.
- Fund viability: Expected fund life shifts modestly, ensuring long-term sustainability.
Who Gains the Most — and Who Doesn’t?
Likely Winners:
- Pensioners since 2025 will easily see their monthly income grow.
- Higher-income retirees enjoy bigger peso-value increases.
Less Impacted:
- Lower-income pensioners may receive smaller absolute gains compared to 2017.
- Large pension recipients may still benefit in pesos, but the return relative to what they already receive is lower.
Blogger’s Corner
This new 10% SSS pension increase is definitely a step forward — pero depende kung saan ka sa bracket. If you’re among the higher pensioners, you’ll feel a bigger boost this time around. And to be fair, sila rin naman ‘yung mas malaki ang nai-contribute through the years, so it makes sense that they get a proportional increase.
Pero kung nasa lower bracket ka, baka mapansin mong mas malaki pa rin ang ₱2,000 hike noong 2017 kumpara sa dagdag ngayon. Back then, regardless of your contribution level, everyone got the same increase. Ngayon, it’s scaled — and while that’s more aligned with fairness based on contribution, it also means mas maliit ang nadagdag para sa mas nangangailangan.
So yes, this isn’t a “sana all” moment for every retiree. But at least may movement na ulit after years of waiting. The challenge now is to make sure future hikes will be more inclusive, especially for pensioners barely getting by.