EAST West Banking Corp. (EastWest) has launched Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA) products to make retirement investing more accessible to Filipinos.
The bank said it wanted to encourage long-term savings by allowing clients to invest in Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)-approved investment outlets with minimum initial payout of P2,000.
"Too many Filipinos put off retirement planning because it can seem complicated or out of reach," EastWest CEO Jerry Ngo said.
"With EastWest PERA products, we want to make retirement investing easier," he added.
PERA is a voluntary retirement savings program backed by the BSP that complements benefits from the Social Security System, Government Service Insurance System and employer-sponsored retirement plans.
It also offers contributors a five-percent tax credit, subject to applicable rules.
Overseas Filipino workers can invest up to P400,000 annually under the EastWest program while other contributors are subject to the P200,000 annual limit.
EastWest partnered with BSP-accredited and Securities and Exchange Commission-supervised digital PERA administrator DragonFi Securities Inc. to provide online account opening, educational tools and digital account management.
EastWest shares fell by 2 centavos to close at P12.16 each on Friday.
