Investment income lifts SSS net revenue by 15%

PROFITS OF pension fund Social Security System (SSS) rose by 15% in the first half on the back of higher earnings from investments and cutbacks in operating expenses.

The pension fund for private sector workers recorded P13.14 billion in net revenue in the first semester, exceeding its P8.47- billion target for the January to June period.

Emilio S. de Quiros, Jr., SSS president and chief executive officer, told a briefing yesterday the pension fund pocketed higher earnings from its investments in stocks and government securities.

“Earnings from equities during the first half of the year reached P7.11 billion. This included P4.4 billion in gains from trading activities and P2.44 billion from dividend payments,” he said.

The SSS investment reserve fund amounted to P302.44 billion, of which placements in government securities totaled P107.19 billion while investments in equities reached P89 billion.

The state agency has stakes in Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. and Philex Mining Corp.

On the expenditure side, the pension fund’s operating expenses fell by P440 million to P3.75 billion in the first semester compared to a year earlier.

Contributions up

Mr. de Quiros also said contributions from members reached P42.72 billion during the first six months of the year. This was 9.48% higher than the P39.02 billion collected in the same period last year.

Contributions from employed members jumped by 9% to P37.13 billion from P34 billion a year ago, while contributions from self-employed members such as freelance professionals, entrepreneurs and informal sector workers amounted to P2.35 billion.

Collections from voluntary members such as non-working spouses increased by 73% to P825,822 from P482,276 while those from overseas Filipinos breached the P1-billion mark, growing by 18% from P929 million last year.

Mr. de Quiros also said collections from “sectors such as farmers and fishermen, household helpers and voluntary members also posted double-digit growth.”

Condonation program

Meanwhile, SSS collections from a program that condoned the penalties on unremitted or delinquent loan amortizations reached P941 million as of August 10.

The amount was collected from 10,512 employers who represented an estimated 86,000 members.

The program ran from January 3 to June 30, but employers may pay on installment basis. SSS has targeted P2 billion from the program.

The penalty condonation program was launched by SSS to allow employers who either failed to remit their employees’ loan amortizations or who had employees who were delinquent in their loan amortizations to complete the payments. — Ann Rozainne R. Gregorio, Businessworld