SSS earnings up 11.8% to P25.5B in ’11

The Social Security System’s neat earnings in 2011 jumped by 11.8 percent to P25.5 billion, from the P22.8 billion reported the previous year partly due to improved collection procedures.

Emilio de Quiros Jr., SSS president and chief executive, said in a statement that the increase could also be attributed to “prudent management of operation expenses and robust investment income.”

“Service delivery to members likewise improved, thanks to enhancements in information technology systems,” De Quiros said. “Our moves toward more electronic and Internet-based transactions resulted in more efficiency and better service to our members.”

He said that last year, the pension fund collected some P86 billion in contributions, rising by 8.4 percent from the P77 billion reported in 2010.

Also, SSS benefits payments in 2011 reached P76 billion. It was 6.8 percent higher than the P71 billion in benefits paid out in 2010.

Bulk of the payments had been earmarked for retirement and death benefit claims.

“Collections outpaced benefit payments by P3.2 billion, the highest recorded [surplus] since 2002,” the SSS chief said.

“This is in step with our objectives of continually building up the investment reserve fund and lengthening the actuarial life of the (SSS) fund.”

As for income from investments, the SSS chalked up some P30 billion last year—an increase of 7.2 percent from the P28 billion seen in 2010.

De Quiros said part of that income came from the penalty condonation program the SSS offered its employer-members last year for unremitted loan amortizations of employees.

The program resulted in the collection of about P1.08 billion worth of delinquency payments from 13,776 employers.

“The SSS was able to achieve all these performance milestones without incurring large operating expenses,” De Quiros said. “In fact, our 2011 opex totaled P7.5 billion, which was only 67 percent of our charter limit and the lowest incurred in the past 10 years.”