The Social Security System (SSS) will begin implementing a multi-year pension increase starting in September 2025, marking what it calls a “landmark” reform aimed at boosting benefits for more than 3.8 million pensioners.

The Pension Reform Program was approved by the Social Security Commission (SSC) through Resolution 340-s.2025 signed on 11 July. It was developed following discussions between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto, who also chairs the SSC.

Backed by actuarial studies, the program will deliver annual increases over three years. Retirement and disability pensioners are set to receive a 10-percent increase in September 2025, followed by another 10 percent in 2026 and 2027.

Survivor pensioners will receive five-percent annual hikes over the same period.

By the end of the three-year period, pensions will have risen by an estimated 33 percent for retirement and disability recipients, and 16 percent for survivor pensioners.

The planned adjustment falls under Section 4 of Republic Act 11199, or the Social Security Act of 2018, which authorizes the commission to modify pension benefits.

“We’ve heard the clamor for higher pensions loud and clear,” said SSS president and CEO Robert Joseph M. de Claro. He described the increases as “rational and sustainable,” claiming they will not endanger the fund’s long-term stability.

The agency said it designed the program around three principles: benefit inclusivity, protection of purchasing power amid inflation, and reinforcement of the value of contributing to the system.

According to the SSS Chief Actuary, the reform is projected to reduce the fund’s life from 2053 to 2049. However, the agency expects this to be offset by stronger revenues from previous contribution adjustments and improved collections.

The SSS emphasized that no new contribution rate hikes will be required to implement the increases — unlike a similar benefit adjustment in 2017, which led to additional contribution requirements.

The three-year payout is expected to inject approximately P92.8 billion into the economy, the SSS said.