On Filipinos’ changing attitudes about retirement

By Bjorn Biel M. Beltran, Special Features and Content Assistant Editor, BusinessWorld

For many Filipinos, retirement planning is shaped less by financial products and more by social expectations. The country’s strong family culture has traditionally meant that aging parents could rely on their children or extended relatives for support in later life.

Formal retirement planning often takes a secondary role, with many workers depending primarily on state pensions such as those provided by the Social Security System (SSS) and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), supplemented by whatever personal savings they could set aside during their working years.

“Traditionally, many Filipinos expect their children or extended family to support them in old age, reflecting strong family-oriented culture,” said Trust Officers Association of the Philippines (TOAP) Investor Relations & Education Director Patricia Lei S. Alvarillo, who is also First Vice-President and Head of the Retail Accounts Department at BDO Unibank’s Trust and Investments Group.

But that model is gradually shifting. Rising living costs, longer life expectancies, and economic shocks in recent years have pushed more Filipinos to reconsider how they prepare for retirement. Increasingly, workers—particularly among the middle class and younger generations—are seeking their own paths toward financial independence.

“More Filipinos now want financial independence in retirement to avoid becoming a burden to their children.  This represents a cultural shift toward individual financial responsibility, especially among middle-class and younger workers,” Ms. Alvarillo noted.

Indeed, a growing number of Filipinos today are showing growing confidence in saving and making early financial decisions, in part due to the rise in accessibility of digital banks in the country.

According to a survey by the Digital Bank Association of the Philippines (DiBA PH), the country rose to 62 this year from 56 in 2024 on the Financial Health Index, which measures the four key areas of financial wellness—that is, financial proficiency, behavior, security, and freedom. This has moved the country into the “good” range of the index, from a previous “low”.

Pressfoto | FREEPIK

Financial confidence among Filipinos has risen along with it, as more Filipinos now report having emergency savings, with 73% saying they have money set aside. Most respondents, however, said their savings would last only up to one month.

Sun Life Asia’s latest Financial Resilience Index echoed similar results, showing increased short-term confidence among Filipinos, despite persistent challenges in long-term planning and resilience. The study found that 66% of Filipinos feel financially secure at present, jumping from the previously recorded 45%. Furthermore, confidence in managing monthly finances also rose from 57% to 69%, suggesting improved short-term financial resilience.

Looking long-term, however, confidence dipped, with only 64% feeling capable of meeting future goals, down from 72%. According to the survey, one in three Filipinos say that, in case of income loss or illness, they would not be able to sustain themselves for more than three months without external support. This vulnerability is more pronounced in younger respondents based in rural areas, as the demographic has limited emergency savings and lower access to financial tools.

Security seems to be the main issue on Filipinos’ minds. A separate survey conducted by Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. found that 21% of 1,200 respondents save mainly to build an emergency fund or prepare for future needs. In Metro Manila, 23% of Filipinos say financial stability is their top concern.

Ms. Alvarillo attributed this behavioral shift to significant shocks like the pandemic, which reshaped how many Filipinos thought about money, savings, and retirement.

“It acted as a financial ‘wake-up call’ changing behavior in both short-term survival decisions and long-term financial planning.  Some Filipinos realized that they need to keep some liquid assets for emergency purposes,” she said.

Filipino Gen Z in particular are approaching money differently from their elders, with habits reshaped by technology, rising living costs, and exposure to global financial trends.

Organizations such as TOAP are playing an increasingly visible role in strengthening retirement planning in the country. Trust officers and fiduciaries serve as professional stewards of client assets, managing pension funds, investment portfolios, and retirement accounts in accordance with strict fiduciary standards.

Their work often involves designing diversified portfolios that combine traditional bank deposits with investment instruments such as bonds, equities, and managed funds, calibrated to a client’s time horizon and risk tolerance.

These services are especially important in a context where many workers are recognizing that state pension systems like the SSS and the GSIS may not be sufficient on their own to sustain retirement needs, as Ms. Alvarillo points out.

“Many Filipinos still hold misconceptions about retirement planning, which often leads to insufficient preparation for old age.  These misconceptions are usually shaped by culture, optimism about future income, or lack of financial planning,” she said.

Trust entities work closely with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Securities and Exchange Commission to strengthen governance frameworks while modernizing financial services. These efforts include improving digital onboarding and administration for retirement products such as the Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA), which allows Filipinos to build tax-advantaged retirement savings through professionally managed investment options.

“The financial literacy provided by various trust entities and the BSP is actually helpful in addressing these gaps,” Ms. Alvarillo noted.

As Filipinos increasingly seek financial independence in later life, the trust industry’s role as both asset manager and financial educator is becoming central to building a more resilient retirement landscape.

This article appears on the latest BusinessWorld In-Depth’s special edition with the Trust Officers Association of the Philippines for Trust Consciousness Week. To get your free copy, go to https://bworld-x.com/product/free-beyond-today-a-modern-strategy-for-retirement-planning/.

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