SSS contributions rose by 9% in H1

MANILA, Philippines—The campaign to encourage overseas Filipino workers and voluntary members to be more active members of the Social Security System helped boost collections by 9 percent year on year in the first semester, reaching P46.7 billion from P42.7 billion.

SSS president and chief executive Emilio de Quiros Jr. said in a statement that contributions from OFWs went up by 14 percent to a total of P1.25 billion while premiums from voluntary members jumped by 11 percent to nearly P2.3 billion.

Also, payments from employees and household helpers—which accounted for the bulk of the total—reached P40.7 billion, rising by 9 percent from P37.23 billion.

Contributions from self-employed members such as entrepreneurs, professionals, informal sector workers, farmers and fisherfolk also increased by 6 percent to P2.5 billion.

De Quiros said that in terms of payment channels, about two-fifths, or P18.1 billion, of inflows in the first half was coursed through over-the-counter transactions at SSS-accredited banks.

Also, the SSS chief said the pension fund continued to make transactions more convenient for members, especially through its website where members can access their records such as membership data and posted contributions.

“By giving members open access to their records through the website, they can monitor discrepancies and refer them to us for correction early on, instead of waiting until retirement age to amend inaccuracies that can affect the processing of their benefits,” he explained.

Further, De Quiros said the SSS was developing its automated tellering system (ATS), which is expected to prevent “unpostable” or missing contributions. This happens when members give the wrong social security numbers when paying through SSS branch tellers.

The SSS, which receives payments in more than 90 SSS branches nationwide, piloted the ATS last May at branch tellers in the SSS main office in Quezon City as well as branches in Cubao and Commonwealth Avenue.

“The ATS will alert our frontline personnel if the member’s name does not match the given SSS number,” De Quiros said.