Statutory lump sum payment (similar to DB) - while payment of lump sum retirement pay at retirement is mandatory, establishment of a pension plan is not. The statutory lump sum retirement pay is based on a DB principle.

Other plans - with respect to pension plans that employers establish voluntarily, most are DB plans. Some are DC plans, while a few are hybrid DB and DC plans.

On a share transfer, the new shareholder of the target company inherits the existing pension plan of the target company (if there is one) and, normally, because of the non-diminution of benefits rule, the new shareholder cannot force the target company to unilaterally change the terms of the pension plan.

Before completion, the purchaser should determine the financial status of the pension plan (if there is one) and, if the pension plan is not in a good financial position, it should consider requiring the seller to put the pension plan into a good financial position or negotiating with the seller for a lower purchase price for the shares.

In contrast, on an asset transfer, the impacted employees do not automatically transfer with the assets to the purchaser. The Philippines is essentially a "terminate and rehire" jurisdiction for employee transfers, but there are variations on how the "terminate and rehire" transfer is implemented. As a consequence, the pension plan does not automatically transfer to the purchaser together with the employees. If the purchaser wants the plan assets to transfer, the transfer will be subject to agreement between the purchaser and the seller.