SSS members’ contributions up
THE SOCIAL Security System (SSS) saw its members’ contributions jump by 10 percent in the first nine months to P98.3 billion.
In a statement, the SSS said the 10-percent increase in end-September contributions from P89 billion a year ago was spread across all the four major segments of its membership.
“Contribution collections from employees, self-employed individuals, voluntary members and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) attained year-on-year increases ranging from 6 to 11 percent,” said Eleonora Y. Cinco, officer-in-charge at the SSS management services and planning division.
The take from employed members’ contributions rose 11 percent to P85.5 billion as of September from P77.4 billion a year ago due to the SSS’ coverage drive and the stricter implementation of policies concerning the SSS obligations of employers, Cinco said.
Employers classified as large accounts, those with 100 or more employees, remitted a total of P57.4 billion. Employers under branch accounts, those having less than 100 SSS member-employees, contributed P28.2 billion, the SSS said.
The SSS said it was “exerting greater pressure on delinquent employers to comply with their responsibilities under the law through legal actions such as issuance of demand letters and filing of court cases for nonremittance of contributions.” Since 2010, the SSS sued more than 7,000 employers.
End-September contributions from voluntary members grew by 11 percent to P5.5 billion from P4.9 billion last year.
Collections from self-employed members climbed by 9 percent to P4.4 billion from P4 billion a year ago, while contributions of OFWs rose by 6 percent to P2.9 billion from P2.7 billion last year.
“The growth in self-employed, voluntary members and OFW collections are encouraging for these are sectors that are much harder to cover as compared with the employees segment. It shows that these individuals have a better appreciation of the social security benefits that they can get when they religiously pay their contributions,” Cinco said.
