P. E. S. O. FUND - update

I got a few additional requirements for the PESO fund

first, you must open a bank account, and the peso fund starts DEC 1
i hope to have further updates for you - like the actual procedure before then....

also, a financial sample so you can see some of the products available in the market today

Sunday, 19 October

Paeng's birthday.
so Sakonit trouped over there for lunch .... and we found Butch with  his wife Josie (met her for the first time) and Jerry O discussing things over what seemed like "done lunch"

Alice, Manny, and I arrived together (they gave me a ride!) and proceeded to have lunch.  I remember having a bit of rice, karekare, chicken, lumpiang shanghai.  i had a tinny bit of beer, and a tinny bit of scotch.

Amihan was not free to join us, neither was Dale, or Boboy.  Joey arrived, but sooooo late - but we did have a chance to gab part of the afternoon away.

Mama, Paeng's mom was asleep though Li-Anne assured that she was strong, only that her sleeping habits have changed.  Mama is 97.  Marianne, Paeng's daughter is now 3rd year - at the College of the Holy Spirit (yes, over there in Mendiola), taking psychology.

Butch is a chemical engineer, and he had a fascinating discussion on coffee - decaff that is, and 3-in-1 things.
I will no longer take decaff, not after he explained the process and the chemicals that removes caffeine from the coffee beans.  The chemical that removes the caffeine is similar to the paint remover you use when you redo the house.  So ugh.

Jerry did give away so many dvds.  Alice said i should give the titles of those i want so she could save them for me.....

a rest day - and splitting a bedroom, or better yet, 2 bedrooms

normally, Saturdays are domestic catch-up days
this is when i fix my cabinets so that the clothes look nice through the glass
and generally fix my bedroom  -
since i have a lumbar concern, my doc said i should try to relocate downstairs

but i am not fully acclimatized to sleeping downstairs so what i have done essentially
is to continue to split the my stuff into two (2) bedrooms
i have clothes (from top to bottom) for home and external use
i have meds, vatious ointments and stuff in both rooms

the thing is, insects bother me very much
so this, too, i must watch out for - in both rooms

so i had my Wilkins deliverd - and man, it is already 150 bucks/5 gallons
and had my 2nd floor bedroom a/c checked - to find out it will cost about 5k to get it going
*sigh*

and then i really rested... slept the afternoon away, actually

Office Companions meet .... after times apart

it is always nice to touch base(s) with companions after a spell of distance of time and space

Last Friday, 17 October
At Sambokojin West - the following gathered to catch up with news about each other
Emily and Chito; Tina; Ging, Paulie, and Justine; Clare and Annabel; Hermie; Aris and family;
Fred; Albert; and the man-of-the-hour who handled the bill, Horace; and me

Albert was off farming, HT was working with an HMO in Makati (near STI where i used to work!), Fred was relaxing (nice to be retired), Emily and Chito were recharging, and Aris shared a bit of news about GSIS (he still has to share some more); and the rest were still with the same agency they were with, but perhaps with some changes.... in their lives.

I had cooked and eaten shrimps, loved the wrapped asparagus and mushrooms, enjoyed the fresh salad, and of course, the miso soup and the tempura.  Ging got a huge vat of ice cream that she shared.  That was the only sweet i got.  Good eats.

Payment time, 6 of us had discounts - Fred, Albert, Emily and Chito, HT, and I (i am a PWD, the rest were seniors) so a 20% discount for 6 wasnt bad at all....

pics to follow

The Price of a Soul

in this age of selfies, wars, and unstable sits
i was wondering ... what price a soul?

i always thought that the price of a soul was really horrendous - the life, say of a child or a loved one
or the safety of a nation or .... roaring success

but guess what
in a little city in the philippines
i found someone whose price is dirt cheap -
the price of her soul .... a promotion to an assistant vice president position

once you let evil in ......

note:
sits is an abbreviation for situations
.....
and there is no such thing as a little evil

Alfarsi - a Maginhawa place, with persian flavors

Alfarsi.
a small place near Savemore Anonas
persian food, it said in its small literature

Manny, Alice, and I decided to taste their persian food last Monday 13 October
mostly ground beef.  we liked the keema pie, and the wraps, and falafel was good
the place was small - it would fit about 7-10 small groups

good eats, i thought.  will eat there again, or perhaps have something delivered

Dong Juan - a Mother Ignacia place

i was off on forced leave Monday 13 October ....
so after Alfarsi, the three of us --- Manny, Alice, and I - proceeded to Dong Juan
she said the dessert was very good .......

as this picture will show -
i found a drink called Happy Bong whose details read .... a larger drink than your Happy Drink
so i ordered the 99-peso Happy Drink..... it was an alcoholic drink with orange slices and marashino cherries

indeed.  a happy drink.  i will try to recreate it with a bit of bourbon and the oranges and the cherries this coming weekend - any suggestion for the bourbon>

my happy drink, some free peanuts, and Alice's coffee ... i also ordered fries but it hadnt arrived yet

my happy drink, the dessert, the fries, and Alice's coffee

From double 10 in '64 to double 10 in 2014, 50 years in Kamias

50 years.  Golden Times.
To live, laugh, love, and cry.  Good times through Bad times and Best Times.

Lovely people who have gone ahead, have stayed with me
People who stayed true.  Judas kissers.

i love being home.

i love cooking, especially for other people.

food, glorious food.

i ordered turkey, pancit luglug, lengua estofado ... in white sauce, fish fillet
i cooked roast beef (medium rare), roast duck, embo-cheat style, and wrapped ground beef, mechado (which didnt get to the table, fresh veggie salad, green peas with quail eggs in butter (yum), and i tested a cheat style-pancit luglug.  i know how to make the old style difficult luglug.

guests who came -
my sibs-jonas with jap and yet with patti, patrick and dino, cousins grace and bert, mario and minda, israel and efren, officemates - ging, paulie, clarits, annabel, kat, win with marver, classmates and schoolmates - alice, manny, jerry, amihan with jimmy, dale, babie, tylette, and my aksitants - cha and jie

i had lots of guests who werent able to make it ... and here's to name a few of them, officemates - mamu and chito, rey and candy, ranil, aris and classmates - benits, joey, paeng, boboy ....

pics to follow

A Goodreads from the Wiz of Oz author for Oct 9

hemmed in? frustrated beyond all reasonableness?

take heart.  wait for the heart, just like the lion.

Never give up...No one knows what's going to happen next. 

L. Frank Baum

October 9, 1899: L. Frank Baum finished writing his beloved classic, The Wonderful World of Oz. It was originally titled The Emerald City.

teachers ....

i was remembering my teachers and i thought of Mrs. Helen P. Ladera, and i googled
lo.... here's a website that mentions her writing a book with some other teachers\\

it is amazing

tbc

Reading Manga

Manga.  What comes to mind is the most delicious fruit in the world.... the Philippine golden manga.
there is nothing there to compare to its lush sweetness.... and if you like the green ones ....
it also makes the perfect sour fruit - with bagoong!
but no, not this delectable fruit... something else...

Before the Anime channel in Cable TV, I was a purist book reader - with the slight exception of reading Wakasan Comics.  My parents thought we should read Tagalog and not just English materials, and before, it was mainly English/American literature.

Then came Anime....and because there was nothing to watch - this, despite all the cable channels - i started watching Anime.  Got to like stuff like Minekura's Saiyuki - a take on Journey to the West, and started to know about Sutras, and the like.  Got to watch KKM - and i learned what a Maou was.

and then there was Bleach, with Ichigo, the unexpected reaper.  Reapers are a scary bunch for me because of the classic image in my mind.  you know, with or without a skull, in those dark robes and a scythe - to cut the lifeline of any and all..... But Ichigo, he was nice.

For a while i resisted watching Naruto - for the simple reason that i did not like the Tagalog dubbing.
I hate to say this but the dubbing was really poor.   The dubbing was done in a monotone, which irked me.

Then i fouind out that these things were based on the manga .... so i started reading manga, and they are  fascinating.....

****
and so, Manga.

One thing about most mangas is that they showcase the Japanese love of stylized fighting.  Who can forget Shintaro the Swordsman (well, at least those who have seen it - like my batchmates) - such swift and elegant swordplay.. much, much better than the European foils.

havent you noticed .. how determined most Japanese heroes are.  Fascinating.

If there is a producer out there reading it, how about showing Shintaro again in a cable channel.
i'll enthuse about it...

SALIENT POINTS OF THE SSS P.E.S.O. FUND

Items in blue are MY personal remarks and comments.

MEMBERSHIP

• All employees, self-employed (SE), voluntary members (VM), and OFWs who have not reached 55 years old and have not filed any final claim under the regular SSS program may enroll in the SSS PESO Fund. 
• For SE, VM and OFW members, they must be paying at the Maximum Salary Credit (MSC) for at least six consecutive months during the last 12 months immediately prior to the month of enrollment. 
• Membership in the SSS PESO Fund begins from the first contribution.
• Interested and qualified SSS members can enroll in the program through over-the-counter in any SSS branch. Online enrollment to the SSS PESO Fund will be announced soon.

CONTRIBUTIONS

• Each SSS PESO Fund member is allowed a maximum contribution of P100,000.00 per annum and minimum of P1,000.00 per contribution. Any amount below the minimum shall not earn interest and shall be subject to automatic refund. However, maximum and minimum amount of contributions may change upon determination of the Social Security Commission.
• Contributions may be made anytime, provided that for SE, VM and OFW members, such PF contribution has a corresponding SS contribution based on the maximum Monthly Salary Credit (MSC) on the month of contribution. 
• SSS PESO Fund contributions are allocated in three accounts: retirement/total disability (65%), medical (25%), and General Purpose (10%). 

GUARANTEED RATES AND INSURANCE

• SSS PESO Fund offers guaranteed rates for the various accounts. Guaranteed rate for retirement or total disability is based on the Five (5)-year T-bond, while medical and general purpose is based on the 364-day T-bill rates. 
• The monthly crediting of the guaranteed rate is based on the average of the past three (3) months. Crediting of actual earnings in excess of the guaranteed rate shall be made at the end of the year.

BENEFITS

• SSS PESO is a tax-free fund. 
• Members have the option to receive retirement or total disability benefit either through monthly pension, lump sum, or a combination of monthly pension and lump sum. 
• Effectivity of retirement/total disability is the same as the effectivity of retirement/total disability under the regular SSS Program. 
• Death benefit for beneficiaries of SSS PESO Fund members will be paid in lump sum. 
• In case the SSS PESO Fund member dies prior to the expiration of the pension period, his beneficiaries will be paid the remaining balance of his fund in lump sum.

FINANCIAL REPORT

• SSS PESO Fund members will receive a Statement of Account every month through electronic mail and may be viewed in their web account via My. SSS.

OPTION TO WITHDRAW                                            

• No withdrawals from the retirement account of the SSS PESO Fund are allowed. 
• Withdrawals on SSS PESO Fund are only allowed from the Medical (25%) and General Purpose (10%) accounts but corresponding penalty and service fees will be charged if the contributions are retained for less than 5 years. Penalty and service fees depend on the number of years the contributions are retained in the SSS PESO Fund as shown on the table below: 

FAQS

Can my SSS PESO Fund contribution vary every year? Yes. For example, you can place P100,000 in 2015 and P20,000 in 2016. This is a savings mechanism so it is up to you to save more so you can add on your SSS PESO fund.

Is there a difference between depositing my money in a savings account and putting it in the SSS PESO Fund? Yes.

A savings account earns minimal interest, usually about 1-4% annually. That much is pretty small potatoes for investment.  Also under PDIC, monies in a savings account are protected until half-a-million.  The Peso Fund carries a Sovereign Guaranty for the entire, by virtue of the SSS Law.

I am employed but I am not paying at the Maximum Salary Credit (MSC). Can I contribute P100,000 in my SSS PESO fund? Yes. The SSS PESO fund is a savings mechanism for those who have other sources of income so they can plan better for retirement.

UPDATE:  2015.07.07 

As a young person, you can start small, and make it bigger as you earn more.

If you are a voluntary member, then you are NOT allowed unless you are paying the maximum. or have paid the maximum 6 months prior to your enrollment.  Sorry, this is the biased portion i was referring to ---

Are my contributions in the SSS PESO fund taxed?

No. Both contributions and income from your SSS PESO Fund are tax free because your contributions had already been taxed from your salary.  Remember, we have the gross taxation scheme, a scheme guaranteed to bleed the blood out of its middle-class citizenry.

How are earnings credited?

Guaranteed earnings are credited monthly. Excess earnings, if any, are distributed at the end of the year.

Putting on my SSS member hat, I can see some inequities in this plan.  Can you spot them?  

There seems to be a bias against Voluntary and Self-Employed Members.

I will let you read, and let you know.  

Also, there are no instructions yet - on how to be a member. 

In the meantime, i will try and get the Pag-ibig proposal out here as well so we can evaluate things together.