THE Philippine National Bank (PNB) said it is now offering the Personal Equity and Retirement Account (Pera) starting this month through its Trust Banking Group, after recently securing the regulatory approval from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
In a statement, PNB said the new scheme will make it easier for their customers to save and build their retirement fund.
âPera supplements our national governmentâs pension programs like the GSIS or SSS as well as the retirement programs of private companies. We support the BSP in offering this savings plan to help Filipinos live comfortably in their sunset years,â PNB President and CEO Jose Arnulfo A. Veloso said.
Established via Republic Act 9505 (Pera Act of 2008), the Pera is a voluntary retirement program that allows investors to accumulate additional funds for retirement. Any person with the capacity to contract and possesses a Tax Identification Number (TIN) can invest in Pera.
The Pera law aims to promote capital market development and savings mobilization by establishing a legal and regulatory framework of retirement plans for individuals 18 years old and above.
They will also be entitled to tax incentives, such as a 5 percent tax credit on annual contributions and exemption from investment income taxes.
âEven if you are employed and are entitled to receive retirement benefits from your employer, you may invest in PERA to gradually build funds that you can use when you retire,â PNB Chief Trust Officer Joy Jasmin R. Santos said. âIf you are an employer, you can use Pera as an option to augment your employee benefits.â
âAs an investor or contributor, you can redeem your Pera contributions once youâve reached 55 years old and have contributed for at least five years,â Santos added. âIn addition, qualified distributions made upon the death of the contributor are not subject to estate tax, making it an ideal estate planning tool.â