MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is getting older faster than many may realize—and the country’s biggest bank is putting a sharper focus on the financial needs of Filipinos entering retirement.
BDO Unibank is highlighting its Prime Savers account, a savings product specifically available to clients aged 60 and above, as millions of Filipino seniors continue working, supporting their families and managing savings that may need to last for decades.
The push comes during Grandparents’ Month in September and against a major demographic shift that could reshape everything from banking and healthcare to pensions and household finances.
The latest Philippine Statistics Authority census data show that 11.42 million Filipinos aged 60 and above accounted for 10.2% of the country’s household population in 2024, up sharply from 9.22 million, or 8.5%, in 2020.
An earlier 2025 population estimate cited by the Philippine News Agency placed the senior population at about 10.98 million, or 9.6% of the total population, with officials projecting the elderly share to climb to roughly 11% by 2030.
That difference reflects the use of different population datasets and reference periods, but both point in the same direction: the Philippines is steadily ageing.
Millions of seniors are still working
Retirement also does not necessarily mean leaving the workforce.
Data cited by BDO and reported by InsiderPH show that about 3.4 million Filipinos aged 60 and above remained part of the labor force in 2025.
Separate reporting on PSA data said employment among economically active seniors was close to 99%, with about 1.8 million elderly workers employed in agriculture and many others working in retail, transportation and service industries.
That helps explain why banking products for older customers are increasingly about more than simply holding retirement money.
Some seniors are still earning income. Others are operating small businesses, helping children and grandchildren, traveling, paying household expenses or trying to preserve accumulated savings as their regular employment income declines.
For banks, that creates a growing customer segment whose priorities can be very different from those of younger depositors.
What BDO Prime Savers actually offers
BDO Prime Savers is available to individuals 60 years old and above.
According to BDO’s official product page, the peso account currently requires a ₱2,000 minimum initial deposit and ₱2,000 minimum monthly average daily balance.
Deposits begin earning interest once the balance reaches ₱5,000, with BDO listing a 0.0625% gross annual interest rate for the peso account. Customers may also receive preferential foreign-exchange rates and priority handling when visiting branches.
For customers keeping funds in US dollars, BDO’s Prime Savers Dollar account has a regular US$200 minimum initial deposit and maintaining balance, while at least US$500 is required to earn interest. BDO lists its gross annual interest rate at 0.05%.
Online account opening is also available, subject to BDO’s identity-verification and account-approval procedures.
That distinction matters because the amounts attached to BDO’s September promotion are significantly higher than the ordinary account-opening requirements.
The ₱100,000 figure is for the September promo
From September 1 to September 30, 2026, eligible clients opening a Prime Savers peso account with an initial deposit of at least ₱100,000, or a Prime Savers Dollar account with at least US$2,000, may qualify for a ₱500 SM Gift Pass.
In other words, customers do not ordinarily need ₱100,000 to open a Prime Savers peso account. The regular minimum listed by BDO is ₱2,000; the ₱100,000 amount applies to the limited promotional offer.
The promotion has also been reported as covered by DTI Fair Trade Permit No. FTEB-263939, Series of 2026.
Qualified peso accounts may additionally be eligible for BDO’s 50th anniversary raffle, which runs through December 2026 and offers prizes including hybrid vehicles and SM Gift Passes. Participation requires compliance with the bank’s registration, qualifying-balance and other promotional conditions.
The bigger issue goes beyond one savings account
BDO’s campaign arrives as the Philippines faces a much broader question: Are Filipino households financially prepared for longer retirements?
PSA figures show the country’s median age rose to 27.7 years in 2024, from 25.3 years in 2020 and 24.3 years in 2015—another indication that the population structure is shifting older.
Longer lives can mean more years of household expenses, healthcare costs and family obligations after regular employment income ends.
PSA projections indicate the share of Filipinos aged 60 and above could eventually rise to about 19.6% of the population by 2055, suggesting that retirement planning and income security will become increasingly important issues for households, financial institutions and policymakers.
For BDO, Prime Savers is being positioned as one piece of that changing financial landscape—giving older customers priority banking access and relatively low maintaining-balance requirements while they manage money accumulated over a lifetime.
But the larger story may be demographic rather than promotional.
With more than 11 million Filipinos already in their senior years and millions still working past 60, the traditional picture of retirement is rapidly changing.
And as the country grows older, the bigger challenge will not simply be where seniors keep their savings—but whether those savings will be enough to support increasingly longer lives.
WWC ONE MEDIA J.M.D
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