Finance veteran Victor Limlingan is new SSS chief

SSS

Limlingan inherits a pension fund with record-high assets but faces the challenge of restoring its projected lifespan and improving nearly P40 billion in unrealized stock investment losses

MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has appointed finance and investment veteran Victor Alfonso Limlingan as the new president and chief executive officer of the Social Security System (SSS).

Limlingan replaces Robert Joseph Montes de Claro, who was recently appointed secretary of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT). (READ: New DICT chief faces task of putting house in order amid digital ambitions)

The SSS said Limlingan would prioritize “the enhancement and expansion of member loan programs, the improvement of the investment portfolio’s risk-adjusted returns, and the relaunch of the Pension Booster Program.”

He inherits an institution reporting its strongest financial position yet. As of June 2026, SSS assets reached P1.35 trillion, up 7.6% from end-2025, while its Investment Reserve Fund grew to P1.31 trillion.

Member contributions reached P200.32 billion in H1 2026, up 6.9% year-on-year. However, benefit payments grew faster, rising 19.0% to P173.45 billion as more pensioners and beneficiaries drew benefits.

Despite these gains, the SSS faces longer-term funding pressures and questions over its investment decisions.

Its three-year pension increase program, introduced in 2025, is expected to cause a “manageable reduction” in the fund’s life from 2053 to 2049. The SSS has maintained that the fund is financially sound and hopes to restore the fund’s previous lifespan through expanded coverage and improved collections.

More recently, the Commission on Audit (COA) flagged P39.99 billion in unrealized losses from SSS stock investments as of end-2025, up 245% from P11.60 billion in 2021. The affected shares, originally bought at P121.47 billion, had fallen nearly a third in value to P81.47 billion.

State auditors flagged the ballooning of unrealized equity losses to a “lack of formal stop-loss thresholds necessary to trigger corrective actions and protect the Investment Reserve Fund.”

The SSS defended its investments, saying the losseses were only on paper and did not put the fund or its pension payments at risk. It also said its stock holdings continued to yield dividend income, while the valuation could recover over time.

Limlingan’s background in financial markets may prove relevant as the pension fund faces scrutiny over its stock investments. A Chartered Financial Analyst, he has served as managing director of Regina Capital Development Corporation, a local stock brokerage serving institutional investors, since 2015.

He is also familiar with the SSS, having joined the Social Security Commission, its governing body, in November 2024 as an employers’ representative. He chaired its Risk Management and Actuary Committee beginning in January 2025 and served on its Investment Committee.

Before joining the SSS, Limlingan served on the board of the state-owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) from February to November 2024, during which he chaired its Risk Oversight Committee and was vice chairman of its Audit and Compliance Committee.

His tenure overlaps with DBP’s management of a troubled lending portfolio that has also come under scrutiny by COA. (READ: How DBP botched Duterte-era contractor loans: lax checks, billions overdue)

In its 2025 audit, COA flagged P4.09 billion in overdue loans under DBP’s Infrastructure Contractors Support (ICONS) program, equivalent to 61.4% of its P6.67-billion outstanding portfolio. Auditors cited deficiencies in loan safeguards and collection efforts.

The program was launched in 2017 under the Duterte administration’s Build, Build, Build initiative, and some problematic loans – including a P300-million facility approved in 2019 – predated Limlingan’s time in the DBP. – Rappler.com