BAGUIO CITY – Social Security System President and CEO Emmanuel Dooc and Chairman Dean Mark Valdez assure the delivery of better services to members and additional benefits for SSS pensioners.
In a press conference here last August18, Dooc assured that initiatives and reforms are already being implemented to ensure better benefits for active members and meaningful and adequate pension for retired members.
Valdez explained that SSS is seriously going after employers or companies who are not remitting their counterpart in members’ contribution and cases are already being filed. He also assured that SSS is working on its system to ensure real time payment of benefits and delivery of services to members.
For pensioners, SSS already delivered half (P1,000) of the P2,000 additional pension that President Rodrigo Duterte promised. Valdez said with this, the minimum pension that a pensioner gets is now P2,200 from P1,200.
SSS still needs to work on funding the other P1,000 additional pension since giving the initial P1,000 increase already decreased the actuarial life of SSS from 2042 to 2032, according to Dooc.
Though with the initiative and reforms they are working on which include ensuring better collection and investment plan as well as for Congress’ approval to amend the SSS charter, they can deliver the remaining P1,000 additional pension for retired members as well as on increasing the actuarial life of SSS up to 2049, he added.
On the increase in membership contribution, Dooc explained that this is long overdue to ensure the social protection of both members and pensioners . He assured that the increase will be gradual.
At present, a member’s contribution is 11 percent of his salary and SSS plans to increase it to 17 percent though an annual increase of 1.5 percent spread in four years
With the economic gains of the present administration plus the continuing initiatives such as the tax reform, SSS members will not be burdened by the gradual increase that will eventually benefit members and pensioners, Dooc said. /PIA CAR
