PSE first listed company to adopt PERA for employees

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. (PSE) has become the first listed company to adopt a Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA) program for its employees.

The PSE has partnered with DragonFi Securities Inc., the stock brokerage arm of Edgar “Injap” Sia’s DoubleDragon Corp., for its PERA program for employees.

The move reinforces the PSE’s commitment to promoting long-term financial security among its workforce while supporting greater participation in the domestic capital market.

The STAR last year reported about the PSE’s plan for its employees to have a PERA program starting this year.

“We will spearhead this as the exchange. We will show the listed companies that if the exchange, which is not a big company, can do PERA, they can do PERA also,” PSE president and CEO Ramon Monzon earlier said.

The PSE’s PERA program was launched as part of the exchange’s continuing efforts to promote capital market development by encouraging disciplined and long-term investing, consistent with the declared policy of the PERA Law to mobilize savings and promote capital market development.

DragonFi, the first PERA administrator accredited by the Securities and Exchange Commission, serves as the administrator of the program.

The company provides the platform and administrative support needed to implement the exchange’s payroll-based PERA program for participating employees.

DragonFi’s role includes facilitating employee contributions, PSE’s matching contributions, account administration, regulatory compliance and periodic reporting.

Created under Republic Act 9505, PERA is a voluntary retirement savings program available to the public, in addition to existing retirement benefits from the Social Security System, Government Service Insurance System and employer-sponsored plans.

It provides contributors tax benefits not available in other retirement investment products to encourage Filipinos to save for their future