Caution urged as pension fund overhaul nears

This, he said, is to ensure that returns to members do not fall while capital lies idle due to a lack of investment vehicles.

Supervised by the Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority (NBFIRA), Pension Fund Rule 2 or PFR 2 at the moment requires pension funds to invest at least 30% of their assets locally. Under changes to the Retirement Funds Act passed by Parliament last year, local pension funds will soon be required to invest a minimum of 50% domestically. By Wednesday, that figure meant the return of P14.5 billion in pensioners’ assets back home from offshore markets. By January, 38.2% of pension funds, which amounted to about P123 billion, were invested locally.