If you don’t know where to put your hard-earned money, you may want to try investing in government securities that pay interest payments with an eventual return of the principal, guaranteed.
This, according to Bureau of Treasury Regional Director Yvette Christine Herrera, who was a guest in the March edition of Pampanga Press Club’s media forum KapiHann held at the Swisstotel Hotel Clark.
“Pwede pong mag-invest sa government securities na ino-offer ng republic through the Bureau of Treasury, ipasok and pera sa amin at ipapa-utang sa gobyerno. And in return, may matatanggap sila na interest income,” Herrera said.
Herrera said the bureau is conducting infomation dissemination on financial literacy, in order to guide Filipinos to secure their money.
“We are promoting financial inclusion and investing for the future, so basically we’re educating the people on how to invest,” she said.
She cited statistics from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Social Security System that 80% of Filipinos don’t budget, 75% are financially illiterate, 90% don’t have savings, and 97% do not invest.
“So, 80% of Filipinos retire poor,” she said.
Government securities, Herrera said, are debt instruments issued by the republic through the Bureau of Treasury which are made available to the investing public.
“Maganda ito sa mga hindi alam kung saan dadalhin ang pera or may natutulog na pera sa bangko, so importante na may kaalaman about investing in government securities,” Herrera added.
Government securities, according to Herrera, are “safe” as the government is sure to pay its obligations to the investors.
“They are relatively low-risk investment products and accessible, as they are offered over the counter, through online platforms and even mobile banking apps. They are secure because they earn a fixed interest over the term of the bond and higher than time deposit,” Herrera said.
Investing in government securities is also being supportive of nation building, as the proceeds from the money borrowed by the governnent are used in priority projects in infrastructure, agriculture, health and education.
One such form of government securities are the Retail Treasury Bonds of RTBs which are made available to investors for as low as ₱5,000.
Herrera said key features of RTBs are sovereign backing, affordable, frequent interest payments and relatively higher yield and convenient, as one can invest online and offline. It’s also easy to buy and sell, as one’s investment can be traded to the secondary market.
“This is not a scam and is 100% legit,” Herrera said, adding that usually, the tenor is locked in at 3 to 5 years, with earnings per year.
The Bureau recently issued the RTB 30, or the 30th tranche of investments.
At 6.25% interest with quarterly payments, the RTB 30 is a direct, unconditional, unsubordinated and general obligation of the republic, meaning that the return of investment is guaranteed, Herrera said.
Eligible investors are individuals 18 years old and above for as low as ₱5,000 with increments of ₱5,000 theresafter.
Interested investors may go to treasury.gov.ph and use their RTB Calculator, which compares income from an RTB at 6.25% interest vs regular time deposit with only 1.125% interest.
Herrera said after 5 years, a ₱5,000 RTB investment can earn ₱1,250 in a year against around only ₱225 earnings via a time deposit.
A P100,000 investment is guaranteed earnings of ₱25K, while ₱500,000 in investment can earn ₱125,000 a year, net of tax.
While the promo period for RTB 30 has ended last Feb. 28, Herrera said RTBs will be made available again this year.
“We issue them 3 to 4 times a year,” she ended.
