The Contributor can contribute for as low as 1000 or as may be set by the specific Product Provider but following maximum annual qualified contributions set under the law:

Contributions to the PERA amounting to more than ₱200,000 or ₱400,000, as the case may be, shall not be accepted by the Administrator under the PERA.

Employers who also contribute to its employee’s PERA may do up to the extent of the maximum annual qualified contribution. The annual limit is shared if both the Employer and Employee pay the contributions in PERA.

All you need is a BDO Savings/Checking enrolled in BDO Online Banking to open a PERA and follow these steps:
     • Log-in to your BDO Personal Online Banking account
     • Access BDO Invest Online
     • Click on PERA Initial Opening and follow the steps beginning with PERA eLearning.

For Locally Employed Filipinos have a copy of your latest Income Tax Return (ITR) on hand as reference for the following:
     - Employer's TIN
     - Employer's Name

The law requires that PERA shall be invested solely in Qualified/Eligible PERA Investment Products duly approved by the concerned Regulatory Authority.

The PERA Contributor can choose to invest up to a maximum of 5 of these PERA Investment Product Category:
    a. unit investment trust funds
    b. mutual funds
    c. annuity contracts
    d. insurance pension products
    e. pre-need pension plans
    f. shares of stock or other securities listed and traded in the local stock exchange
    g. exchange-traded bonds
    h. government securities
    i. any other category of investment products or outlets which the concerned Regulatory Authority may allow for PERA purposes

The major PERA participants are the following:

BDO was the first institution in the country to be given approval to become a PERA Administrator, after hurdling the pre-qualification requirements by BSP and being accredited by the BIR. Our functions as a PERA Administrator are as follows:

1. Educate and inculcate financial literacy in the Contributor
2. Open the PERA account/s in the name of the Contributor
3. Receive and record cash contributions from the Contributor for investment in PERA products
4. Implement the Contributor’s and/or his Investment Manager’s instructions on where to invest the PERA funds
5. Ensure PERA contributions are invested and reinvested
6. Observe PERA contribution limits for tax purpose and enforce withdrawal limits
7. Report to BIR and the Contributor the PERA contributions and withdrawals
8. Compute the values of investments and report them to the Contributor, the concerned Regulatory Authority and the BIR
9. Custodize cash and securities comprising the PERA with the custodian
10.  Apply for BIR Income Tax Credit Certificates for the Contributor
11. Ensure taxes and penalties relative to PERA are paid to the government
12. Keep and consolidate records of all contributions, investments, earnings, expenses and withdrawals from the PERA, the valuations of the PERA assets and make regular reports to the Contributor and concerned Regulatory Authority

BDO as your PERA Administrator will automatically submit to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) the application for your PERA TCC within sixty (60) days from the end of each calendar year. You will be notified once your PERA TCC has been approved by the BIR and is available for distribution.

It is recommended for you to make sure that your details with BIR are updated since these will be crucial when you utilize your PERA TCC (ex. change of civil status, name format, birthdate, etc.).

The primary purpose of PERA is for the individual Contributor to do a long-term retirement planning preparation.  Thus, the full benefits of PERA can only be availed during a qualified withdrawal where the PERA contributor has already reached at least 55 years old and has contributed at least five (5) years to his PERA but not necessarily in consecutive years. In BDO, we originally termed this as the 55 and 5 rule.

As such, any withdrawal prior to the satisfaction of the 55 and 5 rule will be considered as an early withdrawal to PERA subject to the following penalties:

1. The five percent (5%) tax credit given to the Contributor for the entire period of the PERA;
2. A flat rate of twenty percent (20%) based on the total income earned by said account from the time of its opening/creation up to the time of withdrawal.

However, early withdrawals due to the following are EXEMPT from penalties:

1. Withdrawal proceeds are transferred to another PERA Investment Product Provider and/or another PERA Administrator
2. Accident or illness-related hospitalization expenses in excess of 30 days (should present a notarized doctor’s certificate.)
3. Total Permanent Disability (should present a certification from the pertinent government agency that the Contributor has been subsequently rendered permanently totally disabled)
4. Distribution of withdrawal proceeds to beneficiary/ies in case of Contributor’s death

To withdraw your PERA investments and terminate your PERA, you will need to fill-out and submit the PERA Notice of Withdrawal/Termination form to your BDO Branch of Account and they will take care of forwarding this to BDO Trust. You will also need to sign the PERA Quitclaim form after we have rendered the final accounting of your PERA for the release of the PERA proceeds.

Please send an email to trustcustomercare@bdo.com.ph and we will provide the forms and instructions.