SSS pushes hike in monthly salary credit ceiling

MANILA, Philippines - The Social Security System (SSS) is pushing for an increase in the monthly salary credit ceiling from P15,000 to P16,000 since the amount of benefits are related to income.

Susie Bugante, SSS vice-president for corporate communications, said the state pension fund was originally looking at jacking up the salary credit ceiling to P20,000 but employers rejected it and instead agreed to a P1,000 hike.

Bugante said employers have given their go-signal for an increase in the contribution of SSS members by 0.6 percent.

The 0.6-percent increase in contribution, comprising some P60 for an employee earning P10,000 a month and to be shared equally by the employee and the employer, aims  to cut the agency’s  unfunded liability of P1.1 trillion by P141 billion.

These twin proposals are part of the SSS reform agenda, which aims to perpetuate fund life or at least extend it by 70 years, and to ensure future pensions and benefits of presently contributing members.

Based on the 2007 actuarial valuation, SSS funds are projected to last until 2039, or 27 years.

The SSS collected P25.58 billion in contributions in the first quarter, up by 7.8 percent from the same period last year with collections in Southern Mindanao rising by five percent to P1.24 billion.

The bulk of contributions came from the employed sector amounting to P21.95 billion, or an increase of 7.2 percent from the P20.47 billion collected in 2012.

Data from the SSS show that there were 1.595 million pensioners as of December last year. The average monthly pension was P1,000 while the highest was P16,563.

The monthly pension depends on the retirees’ paid contributions, including the credited years of service and the number of dependent minor children which should not be more than five.