SSS to start issuing electronic IDs to members by end of July

MANILA, Philippines -The Social Security System is set to issue electronic identification cards for members, saying the long wait for the cards will soon be over.

In a statement, the SSS announced that the issuance of the so-called Unified Multipurpose Identification System (UMID) cards would begin by the end of July.

“Members who have been waiting for their IDs after the SSS card production stopped in April 2010 would be the first ones to get their UMID cards,” SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Emilio de Quiros said in the statement.

The ID is multipurpose because, according to De Quiros, it will eventually serve the purpose of an ATM card that members may use to withdraw benefits from automated teller machines. The card will be embedded with a chip and magnetic stripe.

Moreover, the card may also be used as identification in making transactions with the Government Service Insurance System, Home Mutual Development Fund (Pag-IBIG), and Philippine Health Insurance Corp.

De Quiros said other government agencies are welcome to join the UMID so that the same cards may be used by people in making transactions with them.

“Other state agencies can also join the UMID, which uses biometric technology and fingerprint matching to determine a person’s identity, so more people can reap its benefits,” he said.

The production of the UMID cards started recently. Initial production is 5,000 a day and will eventually reach 20,000. De Quiros said efforts to increase production capacity would help eliminate the backlog.

SSS, which has about 27 million members, said the backlog for IDs has reached 600,000.

“We expect to eliminate it [backlog] in two months,” De Quiros said.

SSS members who currently have their IDs may still use it while waiting for their UMID cards. Meantime, those who have lost their IDs and are applying for replacement are required to pay a P300 fee.

SSS has been receiving complaints from some members who have yet to be given their IDs. Complaints grew after the SSS card production facility, which the government agency said had been in operation for more than 10 years, broke down in 2010.

The production facility, which broke down in April 2010, was able to produce 11 million identification cards since it started production in 1998.

De Quiros said the elimination of the backlog in the production of the IDs has been one of the things that occupied SSS of late.

Earlier this month, he said the SSS started working on the establishment of a provident fund for its members.

Establishment of a provident fund will allow SSS members to save more for their retirement and generate more benefits.

He said SSS members would be allowed to regularly contribute to the provident fund at an amount they desire. Members may give short- and long-term contributions to the fund.

Short-term contributions may be withdrawn anytime and may earn interest comparable to Treasury bill rates. Long-term contributions may not be withdrawn within five to six years, and may earn interest comparable to the 5-year or longer-dated Treasury bond rates.

De Quiros said putting up a fund on top of that pooling the regular contributions would give members the opportunity to save and earn more for their future.