SSS eyes expansion with new loan products, wider coverage

State-owned insurer, Social Security System (SSS) is entering 2026 with an expansionary agenda, seeking to deepen coverage, roll out new lending products and strengthen frontline services after a year marked by pension reforms, digital upgrades and emergency support programs.

- Ehda M Dagooc

SSS president and chief executive Robert Joseph Montes De Claro said 2025 marked a turning point for the state-run pension fund, as reforms aimed at improving benefit adequacy and service delivery gained traction under the Marcos administration.

"This year fundamentally strengthened the social protection framework," De Claro said, citing policy direction from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and economic managers past and present. “Our focus was on delivering better benefits, faster services and wider coverage—outcomes that will define our work going into 2026.”

The agency closed 2025 with the rollout of its Emergency Loan Program (ELP), adding to a series of measures that expanded benefits and eased borrowing costs for members.

Among the most significant reforms was the launch of a three-year pension reform program, under which 3.8 million pensioners will receive annual increases beginning in September 2025.

Retirement and disability pensions rise by 10 per cent annually, while survivor pensions increase by 5 per cent.