Phl, Germany explore pension fund coop

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines and Germany are in talks for a bilateral agreement on social security.

Negotiations on the agreement on social security took place at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) in Berlin from March 4 to 8.

Social Security System president and chief executive officer Emilio de Quiros, Jr. led the Philippine delegation during the talks.

The Philippine delegation discussed with their German counterparts details of social security cooperation such as coverage periods, export of benefits, and mutual administration assistance.

The aim is to help overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Germany and Germans working in the Philippines.

President de Quiros also gave a presentation on the Philippine social security system, particularly on the “layers of social protection.”

On the other hand, Michael Schmidt of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs also gave an overview of the German social security system.

The lead negotiator for the German side was Dr. Albrecht Otting also from the same ministry.  Officials from the German Federal Pension Insurance, German Pension Insurance for Miners, Railway Workers and Seamen, and the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance also joined Dr. Otting’s team.

Ambassador Maria Cleofe Natividad, for her part, spoke of the agreement’s long negotiating history and expressed satisfaction at the timing of the formal negotiations.

“As early as 2002, informal discussions on a social security agreement have begun between our labor ministers.  Eleven years later, we are finally on the negotiating table,” she said.

The Philippine and German delegations expressed satisfaction at the results of the first round of negotiations in Berlin.  Both sides agreed that the next round of talks shall be held in the second half of 2013 in the Philippines.

Natividad said the agreement is an instrument for the protection of Filipinos in Germany.  It will potentially benefit the Filipino nurses who will soon be deployed to Germany, allowing them to repatriate their pensions in full.