Social Protection-SSS

By Prinz Magtulis (The Philippine Star), January 6, 2017 MANILA, Philippines – The Social Security System (SSS) wants a relaxation of investment restrictions to raise more funding for the agency amid a clamor for a pension hike. “It is so we can redirect our funds to better yielding assets,” SSS president and chief executive officer…

By Paolo Romero (The Philippine Star), Dec. 21, 2016 MANILA, Philippines – The Senate has included a provision in the proposed P3.35-trillion national budget canceling the need for patients seeking treatment in hospitals to present a Philippine Heath Insurance (PhilHealth) card as a condition for availing themselves of benefits from the state health insurer.

By Prinz Magtulis (philstar.com), Dec. 18, 2016 MANILA, Philippines — Economic managers have sounded the alarm on the looming approval of a pension hike for Social Security System (SSS) retirees and are now proposing a higher member contribution than what their predecessors envisioned.

By Prinz Magtulis (The Philippine Star), November 18, 2016 MANILA, Philippines – The Social Security System (SSS) now wants to have a first say on financing part of public private partnership (PPP) projects to be bid out by the government.

By Prinz Magtulis (The Philippine Star), October 29, 2016 MANILA, Philippines – The Social Security System (SSS) presented yesterday six options on how to pursue the planned pension hike of P2,000, none of which involved increasing contributions, hence risking fund depletion just after a decade.

By Prinz P. Magtulis (The Philippine Star), October 29, 2016 MANILA, Philippines – Toll roads should source at least a quarter of their funding from pension funds like the Social Security System (SSS) for a sustained stream of revenues, the agency’s new chair said.

By Delon Porcalla (The Philippine Star), October 3, 2016 MANILA, Philippines – A lawmaker wants red tape at the Social Security System (SSS) reduced drastically by cutting the usual six-month processing and release of members’ benefits to a maximum of just 30 days.

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More than a month ago, President Benigno Aquino III vetoed House Bill 5842 which proposed to increase the monthly pension of Social Security System pensioners by P2,000. The President defended his decision stating that supporting the bill will result in shortening the system’s fund life.

As it turns out reforming social security is a well studied topic. A Google search reveals studies and articles by PIDS, the government economic think tank. There is also a ten year old study by the World Bank.

Of what use is a measure that proposes to do good if it destroys the very institution that produces the goodie? Don’t kill the goose that lays the golden egg! President Benigno Aquino III did the right thing when he exercised a seldom used veto power to reject a “very popular” measure passed by Congress…

If only SSS management had some moral authority, it should be easy to understand why P-Noy had to veto that proposal to increase SSS pensions. The math is pretty straightforward. But there are valid issues about SSS management, the record earnings of the trust fund notwithstanding.

MANILA, Philippines – Improving collection efficiency will not solve the Social Security System (SSS)’ problem of not having the funds to cover the proposed increase in retirees’ pension. “Collection efficiency is not the solution,” Michael Victor Alimurong, representative of the general public to the SSS commission, said yesterday.

Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz yesterday called for a more enlightened, objective, and sober assessment of President Benigno S. Aquino III’s veto of House Bill 5842, the proposed law providing for a P2,000 across-the-board hike in Social Security System (SSS) pensioners’ benefits, saying it was a judicious move to uphold the greater welfare of…

The Social Security System (SSS) fired back at critics of President Aquino’s unpopular decision to veto a bill seeking an across-the-board pension increase of P2,000, saying it was the “right move” that saved the fund from an early bankruptcy.

Republic Act No. 8187, also known as the Paternity Leave Act of 1996, grants paternity leave of seven days with full pay to all married male employees in the private and public sectors to enable the married male employee to effectively lend support and assistance to his wife in her period of recovery and in…

The Social Security System’s reserve fund will be exhausted by 2042 if the contribution rate remains unchanged while benefit payments continue to swell, the fund says

MANILA, Philippines – The Social Security System (SSS) is now ready to implement its new retirement savings program called Personal Equity and Saving Option (PESO) fund. Launched in September 2014, SSS PESO is an alternative and tax-free investment that offers guaranteed earnings higher than the rates offered in a savings account or bank deposit. The…

From the Department of Labor and Employment SSS-registered kasambahay now 105,000; DOLE-led convergence drafts protocol on rescue and rehabilitation of abused kasambahay

Oct. 20, 2014. That’s the day of reckoning for the government’s Home Guaranty Corp. Congress leaders set that deadline for the HGC to repay P5.3 billion in overdue debts to us 35 million SSS members. Let’s hope the agency under the Office of the President complies. Perhaps its president has run out of lame excuses…

MANILA — The Social Security System (SSS) has opened a voluntary provident fund program that offers its members an additional way of saving for their retirement.

The MOA between the DILG and SSS allows contractual personnel to register under the SSS’ Expanded Self-employed Program Coverage MANILA, Philippines – Contractual and job order (JO) personnel working in local governments units (LGUs) can now be covered under the Social Security System (SSS).

Once again, the Social Security System has provided us another occasion for complaining—it did not keep its earlier promise to release this month the 5-percent pension adjustments for June, July and August. This lapse is certainly trivial and preventable, yet we are complaining. In our country, some—even if unorganized—must complain to point out malpractices otherwise…

MANILA, Philippines – Members’ contributions to the Social Security System grew to P58.8 billion in the first six months, this year, exceeding half of the total amount collected in 2013.

An agency under the Office of the President has been refusing to repay the Social Security System (SSS) P5.3 billion in obligations. And yet, Presidents habitually use SSS money for mass housings that hardly benefit its members.

If PNoy has his Disbursement Acceleration Program, the Social Security System has its own version of DAP—disaster assistance program for victims of natural and man-made calamities.

MANILA, Philippines – More than 27,000 workers from Metro Manila and parts of Luzon will benefit from wider access to Social Security System (SSS) services after accrediting non-government organizations (NGOs) assisting the urban poor and a cooperative for vegetable vendors as partner agents. The government-run pension fund signed a servicing partner agent (SPA) agreement with…

MANILA, Philippines – Starting today, the Social Security System (SSS) will no longer accept hardcopy or paper-based contribution collection lists (R-3) and loan collection lists (ML-2) from employers. Instead, employers must submit their R-3 and ML-2 in soft copy format saved in an electronic storage media, such as a USB flash stick or compact disc…

MANILA, Philippines – The Social Security System (SSS) has disclosed the terms of its new 10-percent across-the-board pension increase for work-related claims under the Employees’ Compensation (EC) program and the doubled EC funeral grant.

The increase in benefits will be implemented retroactively, with Sept. 1, 2013 as date of effectivity MANILA, Philippines – The Social Security System (SSS) released the terms of its 10% across-the-board disability pension increase and doubled funeral grant under the Employees’ Compensation (EC) Program.