SSS extends work week to serve more members

The Social Security System on Thursday announced that it would extend its work week by another day to make its services more accessible to members.

Starting on Oct. 26, every branch of the SSS will be open for business every Saturday.

The SSS has 5,000 employees working in 132 branches nationwide.

The SSS also has 23 satellite offices in malls that are open Tuesdays to Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“Under the new schedule, SSS branches will be open to serve members from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every Saturday on top of regular hours from Mondays to Fridays,” said Edgar Solilapsi, SSS executive vice president.

The pension fund decided to open on Saturdays because some of its members could not make the necessary transactions on weekdays, Solilapsi said in a statement Thursday.

The SSS has 30 million individual members and 871,000 registered employers.

Recently, the SSS came under fire when it was reported that each of its eight directors received a bonus of around P1 million for the company’s performance in 2012.

The SSS drew the ire of militant groups and several pension fund members, who complained about the difficulty in transacting business with the SSS.

They likewise said that the granting of hefty bonuses was unfair, especially because the pension fund manager is set to hike members’ contribution rate in January, supposedly to trim the unfunded liability of the SSS.

But the pension fund said the bonuses were given in accordance with the performance-incentives system applied to all government firms.

The bonuses, it also said, were given because the financial condition of the SSS has been improving.