Exec on Pag-IBIG membership: ‘The sooner the better’

FILIPINOS MOST  secure their future through the Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG Fund) membership program once they reach legal age.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Pag-IBIG Fund deputy chief executive officer, Alexander Aguilar, said savings can start as early as 18 years old.

"Pag-IBIG has two mandates The first one is to promote [generation of] savings among Philippine workers and the second one is to mobilize those funds collected from savings to finance housing," Aguilar said.

“The earlier you save, the better for you, the more funds you will accumulate as you go on your professional life," he added.

Pag-IBIG Fund members' mandatory minimum monthly contribution of PHP100 will go to the Regular Savings facility, where savings can grow with dividends earned annually.

Pag-IBIG also offers the Modified Pag-IBIG 2 (MP2) Savings, a special saving facility with a five-year maturity for members who wish to save more and earn even higher dividends on top of the regular savings.

From the required initial PHP500 savings, members can add the same amount or higher monthly, invest a one-time lump sum, or just deposit anytime.

MP2 also earns divided per year with a premium of 0.5 percent. It is likewise open to pensioners and retirees who were former Pag-IBIG Fund members.

"You are not just saving, but providing emergency funds for your future needs, " Aguilar said. "Plus the fact that if you are an active member of the Pag-IBIG Fund, you can get a housing loan."

Aguilar noted the Fund's collection has become "phenomenal" with the MP2 program amid the pandemic, with PHP26 billion in voluntary contribution collected last year.

In 2021, the Pag-IBIG Fund financed PHP100.8 billion worth of housing loans, the highest ever released by the agency in a year, despite the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"We took a different position. We felt that instead of slowing down housing loans, we need to aggressively push it because when you extend loans, you create more houses and when you create more houses, you create more jobs," he said. ( Lade Jean Kabagani)