SSS upgrades text-based facility for members

MANILA, Philippines - The Social Security System (SSS), the state-owned pension fund for private employees, has upgraded updates on the status of members’ benefits and other claims through the use of an enhanced short messaging service (SMS) facility.

SSS vice president for member services Mario Sibucao said under the enhanced Text-SSS facility, members are also provided the location of the branch nearest them as well as the list of required documents.

“Text-SSS enables members to be in touch with SSS wherever they are,” he said. “It saves them time and money spent in going to SSS branches for inquiries. It also helps members and beneficiaries avoid making multiple visits to our offices because of incomplete requirements.”

Launched in February 2010, the Text-SSS facility attracted 150,000 users. The facility provided members a faster and more convenient means to inquire about their contributions, status of their loan applications and their loan balance.

The agency handles an average of 24,300 Text-SSS transactions every month.

For 2011, the pension fund posted a total of 291,600 Text-SSS transactions, with contribution inquiries comprising the biggest share at 44 percent.

To access the facility, members seeking SSS coverage as overseas Filipino workers (OFW), self-employed individuals (SELF) or voluntary members (VOL) can use Text-SSS services. They will be given a list of services to get a list of documents required to register by sending “SSS <OFW or SELF or VOL >” to 2600.

“We expanded our services to include inquiries on the status of sickness, maternity, disability, retirement, death and funeral claims, as well as medical benefits under the Employees Compensation program, which SSS administers for private sector workers,” Sibucao said.

To register, members can send their SSS number and birthdate using the format “SSS REG <SS Number> <MM/DD/YY>” to 2600. Registered members will receive their Personal Identification Number (PIN) code, which is needed in Text-SSS transactions, through text.

The service fee is P2.50 for Globe and Smart subscribers and P2 for Sun Cellular users. Members can get the list of keywords by sending “SSS HELP” to 2600.