Military pension reforms opposed

ONE of the reforms being proposed by a financial institution of the Armed Forces will reduce the pension benefits of retired servicemen but raise by two years the mandatory retirement age from 56 years old.

The proposed reforms are spelled out in a June 2, 2001 letter the AFP-Retirement and Separation and Benefits System sent to Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin. It asked Gazmin to endorse a “draft bill” entitled “Philippine Military Pension System Act of 2013”, which aims at establishing a sustainable military pension system.

Such a proposal, however, did not sit well with soldiers who said it would be an injustice to those who were banking on their benefits after leaving the servide.

“If the proposal is approved by Congress and carried out, I will be losing around P1.3 million of my retirement benefits,” said a sergeant who asked not to be named. “These are not reforms but punishment for us in the service,” he said.

The proposal was submitted by retired Vice Admiral Emilio Marayag, chairman and chief executive officer of the AFP-RSBS and designated chairman of the Department of National Defense-AFP Committee on Pension Reforms.

Marayag requested the Defense Secretary to hire an actuary to determine if the viability of the proposed pension system.

“The AFP-RSBS has allotted a budget for this,” Marayag said in the letter.

Marayag stressed the need to undertake all necessary efforts toward “the calendaring and passage of the legislative proposal. The committee informally received a word that Senator [Panfilo] Lacson’s staff wishes to meet AFP-RSBS anytime in June.”

On June 15, the officer-in-charge of the Office of the Undersecretary for Civil, veterans and Reserve Affairs, Eduardo Batac, wrote Armed Forces chief Gen. Eduardo Oban Jr. to comment on the recommendations of the AFP-RSBS.

Stated in the proposal as “first item”, Marayag pushed the adoption of the draft provisions on benefit package: one, reduction of pension computation based on salary grade from one rank higher to last permanent rank held; two, from 2.5 percent times number of years of service multiplied by 1.25 of the base pay (only); three, from 75 percent to 50 percent of survivorship benefits.

The committee also proposed to increase the mandatory retirement age from 56 to 58 years old and optional retirement from 20 years of service to 25 years; and the removal of the automatic indexation feature under Presidential Decree 1638.

Also in the proposal, the committee intended to implement coordinative and advocacy actions with the legislature and information campaign to the soldiers.

“These efforts will stress that the final provisions will be determined by executive and legislative branches of the government,” the proposal stated. –Florante S. Solmerin, Manila Standard Today