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FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
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ABOUT THE SSS'S ₱40-BILLION PAPER LOSSES
You see SSS contributions come out of a payslip, or set aside money to pay them yourself. Then you read that the fund has almost ₱40 billion in paper losses.
Does that mean the money is gone? And if it has not been lost through a sale, why did the auditors raise a warning?
Both questions deserve more than "paper lang."
1
THE ₱40 BILLION IS A DROP IN THE VALUE OF CERTAIN INVESTMENTS
COA's 2025 audit records ₱39.994 billion in unrealized losses on a category of SSS share investments, up from ₱11.6 billion in 2021. Its June 30, 2026 audit letter reports a 245-percent increase. [COA 2025 audit, opening letter (PDF pages 1–2)](https://www.sss.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Item-10.a.-Annual-Audit-Report-on-the-SSS-for-the-Years-Ended-Dec-31-2025-and-2024-2_Compress_1.pdf)
This is not a finding that someone withdrew ₱40 billion from an SSS account. It is also not the value of the entire pension fund. It concerns investments whose market values had fallen.
WHAT TO WATCH
These are audit figures for 2025, not a measurement of what the same holdings are worth this morning.
2
"PAPER" DOES NOT MEAN THE FALL IN VALUE IS IMAGINARY
Imagine buying a share for ₱100. Its market price falls to ₱70, but you keep it. You have not sold it at a ₱30 loss. The share you hold is nevertheless worth less at that point.
It might recover. It might fall further. Calling the loss unrealized describes the position; it does not promise a recovery.
A pension fund invests over a long period, so selling every time prices fall would not automatically protect members. But holding an investment also needs a reason. "We have not sold" cannot, on its own, tell us whether keeping it is a sound choice.
WHAT TO WATCH
That is why the discussion has to move beyond whether the word "paper" makes the headline sound less alarming.
3
COA ASKED FOR CLEARER RULES ON WHEN MANAGERS MUST ACT
The audit points to a lack of formal stop-loss thresholds and calls for clearer loss limits, rules for raising concerns with senior officials, and documented decisions. It also recommends regular checks of how investments would fare in market downturns. [COA 2025 audit, opening letter (PDF pages 1–2)](https://www.sss.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Item-10.a.-Annual-Audit-Report-on-the-SSS-for-the-Years-Ended-Dec-31-2025-and-2024-2_Compress_1.pdf)
These recommendations are not simply an instruction to sell everything that falls. COA also asks managers to explain decisions to retain investments after loss thresholds have been breached, including the expected recovery and the approval behind the decision.
WHAT TO WATCH
The question is whether the fund had clear safeguards and used them. A policy on paper is not enough if nobody can show when it prompted a review or a change.
4
SSS HAS AN ANSWER, BUT THE FIGURES NEED THE SAME TIME FRAME
SSS has defended its long-term investment approach. In its statement reported by BusinessMirror, it points to dividends and realized gains from major holdings, and says the pension fund remains able to meet its obligations. [SSS response reported by BusinessMirror](https://businessmirror.com.ph/2026/10/15/hounded-by-paper-loss-issue-sss-sticks-to-guns/)
That explanation belongs in the story. A company's share price can fall while it continues paying dividends. Looking only at the price decline can leave out part of what an investment earned.
The reverse is also true: citing dividends does not automatically answer every concern about a falling investment. We cannot subtract gains earned over many years from a loss measured at one date and call the comparison settled.
WHAT TO WATCH
Members need a clear account of the purchase cost, current value, income received, time held and reasons for keeping the investment.
5
MEMBERS DESERVE RECORDS, NOT PANIC OR BLANKET REASSURANCE
The audit finding does not establish that pensions are about to stop. SSS's assurance does not erase the weaknesses COA identified. [COA 2025 audit, opening letter (PDF pages 1–2)](https://www.sss.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Item-10.a.-Annual-Audit-Report-on-the-SSS-for-the-Years-Ended-Dec-31-2025-and-2024-2_Compress_1.pdf)
WHAT TO WATCH
The same audit letter gives an unmodified opinion on the fair presentation of the financial statements while listing findings that need immediate action. Those two things can exist together. Fairly presented accounts are not a promise that every investment decision was good.
BOTTOM LINE
The follow-up should be specific: What safeguards have changed? Who checks investments that keep losing value? When may managers continue holding them, and who signs off? How will members know whether the changes are working?
For members, "nothing to worry about" is not a report. Neither is "the money is all gone."
The useful answer shows what happened, what remains at risk and what the people handling the fund have done about it.
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