MANILA, Philippines - The Social Security System (SSS) registered a six percent rise in revenues in 2013 on higher contributions from members and steady investment earnings.
In a statement, the state pension fund said net revenues reached P38.3 billion last year as member contributions breached the P100-billion level.
Contribution collections amounted to P103.1 billion, up nine percent from P94.2 billion in 2012.
“The increase in collections was bolstered by ongoing campaigns to promote the value of active SSS membership, improved monitoring of employer compliance and intensified coverage drives spanning a wide range of sectors, including the hard-to-reach informal sector and overseas Filipino workers,†said May Catherine Ciriaco, SSS vice president of management services and planning.
Total revenues stood at P137.4 billion in 2013, up seven percent from P128.1 billion in 2012. About 75 percent of the total came from contributions.
Operating expenses declined one percent to P7.6 billion, which represented 57 percent of the allowed charter limit. This was a result of measures taken by management to maximize SSS resources and promote system-wide prudent spending.
Benefit payments, which account for 92 percent of total expenditures, went up nine percent to P91.4 billion.
SSS continued its regular monitoring of pension releases thru the Annual Confirmation of Pensioners (ACOP), a program that protects the fund from fraudulent claims by requiring pensioners to present themselves to SSS or to their depository bank on the member’s birth month to prove their continued eligibility for pension.
“With the ACOP, SSS continues to clean up its database of non-eligible pensioners to prevent the release of undeserved benefits,†Ciriaco said.
“Last year, we found out that a total of 4,331 pensioners are no longer eligible for pension due to reasons such as death, remarriage or recovery from total disability, and this translates to recurring SSS savings of about P12 million every month,†she added.
Meanwhile, investment and other income reached P34.3 billion, P400 million more than the P33.9 billion recorded in 2012.
The pension fund’s assets stood at P384.6 billion as of end-last year, up six percent year on year.
“While investment income was relatively flat, our investment yield of 8.7 percent is still higher than comparative benchmark yields such as the three percent inflation rate, 0.7 percent 364-day Treasury bill rate, four percent rate of 10-year T-bonds, and the 0.5 percent Philippine Stock Exchange Index, despite the current low-interest environment and volatility in the financial market,†Ciriaco said.
The SSS also noted the expanding coverage of its AlkanSSSya Program, a microsavings scheme for the social protection of informal sector workers. As of 2013, the program covered over 57,220 members from 568 informal sector groups, bringing economically-vulnerable workers from various industries across the country within SSS’ reach.
Following the passage of the Kasambahay Law, the number of SSS-registered household employers reached 285,205 while covered domestic workers totaled 96,705 by the end of 2013.
Meanwhile, the total number of SSS website enrollees rose to 2.9 million with 804,492 members and 91,056 employers opening their own online accounts last year. SSS website transactions grew more than threefold to 1.98 million.
Ciriaco said the SSS continues to beef up its presence nationwide.