SSS eyes sale of P27B worth of assets

To shore up revenues and fund higher pension disbursements, state-run Social Security System (SSS) plans to auction off P27 billion worth of prime property while also tapping the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) to insure some of the pension fund’s liabilities.

SSS president and chief executive Emmanuel F. Dooc told the Inquirer that while contribution collections improved to an average P13 billion a month of late, the additional P1,000 a month being granted to pensioners also raised total benefit payments to about P13 billion monthly.

The additional pension benefit, if not coupled with higher collections, will slash the actuarial life of the SSS’s funds to 2032 or a 10-year reduction from 2042 previously, Dooc said.

The Inquirer reported last week that the SSS’ first-quarter net profit dropped by 67 percent year-on-year to $4.01 billion partly due to the pension increase.

While President Duterte had ordered a 1.5-percentage point increase in members’ contribution rate to compensate for the pension jump, Dooc said they expected the Office of the President to issue an official order to specifically implement the contribution hike after Congress approves the first tax reform package that will cut personal income tax rates.

“More disposable money from tax reform can be used to pay higher contributions. We will prepare the guidelines so we can implement the contribution increase early next year” if Congress passes the tax measure this year, Dooc said.

In the meantime, Dooc said the SSS would hire “very soon” two property consultants to help in the disposition of a number of “valuable” but currently idle pieces of property.

Dooc disclosed that among the SSS assets that could be sold included the more than five-hectare property at the corner of Edsa and East Avenue in Quezon City; the old SSS building at the corner of Ayala Avenue and Rufino Street in Makati City, which will be demolished to put up a new building; a property along Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard in Pasay City as well as another piece of property at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City.

“These are potential sources of revenues. We cannot keep them idle,” he said.