HEADS UP: SSS Contribution Hike, UK Arrivals Banned

It's Christmas Eve. Here's a Heads Up from reportr on news that you need to know today, Thursday, the start of a long weekend.

• It's the start of a four-day long weekend and for some, work will not resume until January. Here's your guide to the 2021 holidays. Check out the Christmas weather forecast from PAGASA.
• January 2021 will usher in an increase in SSS contributions, to 13% of members' monthly salaries from 12%. It's part of a programmed series of rate hikes to keep the pension fund viable.
• The year 2021 will see more and more money transactions move into the digital space. Here's the future of money based on the rise of GCash, Lyka and the upcoming Pac Pay.
• That crazy RC Cola Commercial was named Best Ad of 2020 by trade publication Adobo Magazine. Congartulations to its creators at GIGIL.
• There is hope in 2021, take it from gritty Filipinos like this barista who converted  sari-sari store into a Japanese-themed coffee shop.
• If you're renewing your passport, book only through officials to avoid getting scammed, said the DFA.
• There's a new coronavirus strain that prompted the strictest lockdown in the UK and the Philippines has banned all UK arrivals from 12:01 a.m. of Dec. 24 to Dec. 31.