IMEE: IT'S TIME TO PUT UP A NEW, PROFESSIONALLY RUN MILITARY PENSION FUND

Senator Imee Marcos has stressed the urgency of replacing a deactivated pension fund for military and uniformed personnel (MUPs) whose salary contributions used to earn at a higher interest rate than most banks can offer.

Marcos, who chairs the Senate committee on economic affairs, pointed out that no pension fund has yet replaced the Retirement and Separation Benefits System (RSBS) which stopped collecting member contributions since its shutdown in 2016 due to gross mismanagement.

"For the past five years, old and newly recruited MUPs could have made more contributions and earned more interest if a new pension fund was promptly set up. The longer we wait to replace RSBS, the more we deprive our MUPs and their families of earnings they could have already accumulated," Marcos said.

To establish a new pension fund, Marcos urged caretakers of the RSBS to liquidate all its assets as soon as possible, citing that it already missed its goal to do so in April, based on the five-year timeline set after its deactivation.

"Besides speeding up the reimbursement of all member contributions, the revenue from liquidated assets can be used to seed a new self-sustaining fund, independent of the national budget - which RSBS failed to be," Marcos said.

Only member contributions are being refunded by the RSBS to about 130,000 MUPs, with a completion goal in 2022.

"Payouts of retirement and separation benefits are being covered by allocations in the national budget, but these are increasing each year due to salary hikes and the indexation of benefits," Marcos explained.

"RSBS interest payments also keep growing, in effect depleting the retained resources of GOCCs (government-operated and -controlled corporations)," Marcos added.

Marcos has been calling for an inquiry by the Senate committee on national defense and security to clarify the financial status of RSBS and its ability to reimburse members' contributions.

Although RSBS has said it remains debt-free and far from bankruptcy, Marcos cited findings by the Commission on Audit (COA) that the pension fund had overstated its total assets by Php2.54 billion and Php2.63 billion in the two years prior to its deactivation.

The COA also found discrepancies in RSBS statements on membership contributions in 2017 and 2018, with unreconciled balances of Php10.24 billion and Php9.26 billion, respectively.

——————————————————————————

(Tagalog version)

IMEE: PANAHON NA PARA SA PANIBAGONG AT MAS PROPESYONAL NA MILITARY PENSION FUND

Inihirit ni Senador Imee Marcos na pabilisin na ang pagpapalit sa nagsarang pension fund para sa mga military at uniformed personnel (MUPs) na dati'y may kontribusyong kinakaltas sa kanilang sweldo para kumita ng interes na hindi natatapatan ng mga bangko.

Tinukoy ni Marcos, chairman ng Senate committee on economic affairs, ang Retirement and Separation Benefits System (RSBS) na hindi pa rin napapalitan, kahit tumigil na ito sa pagkolekta ng kontribusyon ng mga miyembro mula nang magsara noong 2016 dahil sa di maayos na pamamalakad.

"Sa nagdaang limang taon, ang matatanda pati bagong salta na MUPs ay mas kumita sana kung may pinaglalagyan ang kanilang mga kontribusyon. Habang hindi pa napapalitan ang RSBS, napagkakaitan ang ating mga MUPs at kanilang pamilya ng dapat sana'y kanila nang kinikita," diin ni Marcos.

Para makapagtayo ng panibagong pension fund, hinimok ni Marcos ang mga nangangasiwa sa RSBS na ibenta na ang lahat ng pag-aari nito, na dapat ay tinapos na noong Abril, ayon sa itinakdang limang-taong 'timeline' matapos magsara.

"Bukod sa mapapabilis na ibalik ang mga kontribusyon ng lahat ng miyembro nito, magagamit ang perang malilikom para simulan ang panibagong sistema na hindi na kailangang suportahan ng gobyerno bawat taon - bagay na hindi nagawa ng RSBS," ayon kay Marcos.

Tanging ang kontribusyon ng mga miyembro ang nire-refund o isinosoli ng RSBS sa nasa 130,000 MUPs, na target nilang matapos sa 2022.

"Ang mga bayad naman sa retirement at separation benefits ay sakop sa national budget ng gobyerno, pero tumataas ito kada taon dahil sa mga umento sa sahod at mga benepisyo," paliwanag ni Marcos.

"Tumataas rin ang interes sa bayarin ng RSBS, kaya nababawasan pa ang natitirang resources ng GOCCs (government-operated and -controlled corporations)," dagdag pa ni Marcos.

Sa harap nito, inihirit ni Marcos na imbestigahan na at linawin ng Senate committee on national defense and security ang pinansyal na kalagayan ng RSBS at ang kakayahan nitong mag-refund o magbalik ng kontribusyon ng kanilang miyembro.

Kahit sinabi ng RSBS na nananatili itong walang utang at malayong mabangkarote, binanggit ni Marcos na natuklasan ng Commission on Audit (COA) ang labis na pagdeklara ng RSBS sa halaga ng kabuuang pag-aari nito, na umabot sa Php2.54 billion at Php2.63 billion sa loob ng dalawang taon bago ito tumigil sa operasyon.

Natuklasan din ng COA na malabo ang pagkalkula ng RSBS sa kabuuang kontribusyon ng mga myembro nito na may kwestyonableng balanse na Php10.24 billion noong 2017 at Php9.26 billion noong 2018.