SSS bonuses now available

MANILA, Philippines—Some 340,000 retirees who are members of the Social Security System can now avail themselves of their 13th-month bonuses as the agency has released P8.7 billion which also covers pensions for December.

SSS spokesman Joel Palacios said in a statement the funds were released in mid-November to partner banks, including Philippine National Bank, Philippine Savings Bank, Land Bank of the Philippines and Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co.

“We requested them to allow all members to withdraw as early as the first week of the month,” Palacios said.

With the SSS, regular monthly pensions are usually released on the date that the member officially retired — if one retired on July 23, his or her pensions are released every 23rd day of the month.

SSS also provides monthly pensions for partial and total disability, retirement and death.

Further, Palacios said the year-end disbursement was 7 percent more than the P8.15 billion released in December 2008.

Of the total amount, P8.59 billion or 98.61 percent was coursed through the Mag-Impok sa Bangko program, which facilitates monthly pension releases to ATM accounts of pensioners.

Also, SSS mailed a total of P103.17 million in checks to some 20,000 pensioners.

Palacios said PNB, which accounts for 35 percent or 501,736 of the 1.41 million pensioners enrolled in the MSB program, made the 13th month pensions available for withdrawal since December 1.

“PSB, Landbank and Metrobank – which together cover some 340,000 pensioners — also informed us that they would credit the 13th month pensions on December 1, 3 and 4, respectively,” he said.

A total of P4.72 billion, which made up over half of pension disbursements for December 2009, went to retirement pensioners.

Death pensions totaled P3.63 billion and disability pensions amounted to P345.51 million. –Ronnel Domingo, Philippine Daily Inquirer