Whether they have benefits or not is my favorite point of discussion with the yayas of the kids my son meets in the condo play area. None, so far, see how important this is except one Ilocana I met. Malou says she needs to pay 4 more years before she’s secured and won’t have to work forever.

She’s so glad to meet someone who also gets it. She doesn’t know how much happier I am that I met someone who gets it as well… especially coming from her field of work. I’m not surprised that it came from an Ilocana, though.

A small pension after 60 is what sets the line between slavery and humanity, especially for our domestic workers.

Stay-at-home mothers are just as, if not more, vulnerable to this. So if you chose this path… make this the only reason you marry your man. You might not want to deal with him forever, but you’ll legally get his pension when he passes.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum that is those who pursue financial independence, a small pension holds the exact same weight. SSS is an annuity without us knowing—a monthly payment we get ’til the end of our days and after, in richness or for poorer. That is, if we actually run out. If you didn’t engineer your FIRE mechanism enough to cover all possible scenarios, you just might need it.

To receive a lifetime pension after 60, we must strive to pay a minimum of 120 monthly contributions, or 10 years’ worth of service. Whether you are a kasambahay or a financially independent person yearning for early retirement, we must intentionally complete or ask for this mandated government benefit… and report your boss to DOLE if they don’t!

By 2029, when I retire, I would have put in exactly 10 years and some change since I started working in 2019. Talk about it being meant to be. But then again, this is my guarantee that I will not reach senior citizenship with nothing. As someone who wants to FIRE early, continuing to voluntarily contribute to SSS is a must if you want to maintain a competitive pension three decades after early retirement.

We won’t always be as strong as we are now, and nothing is guaranteed in life aside from a measly SSS pension at 60. Let paying your SSS be the only “life insurance” you choose—yung di kailangan ng “financial advisor.”