SSS taps Filipino OFW council to secure Saudi-based workers

CEBU, Philippines — The Social Security System (SSS) has tapped a network of Filipino community leaders in Saudi Arabia to expand pension and social security coverage among overseas workers, emphasizing efforts to deepen financial protection for millions of migrant Filipinos in the Middle East.

The state-run pension fund signed a memorandum of understanding with the OFW Council of Leaders on June 22, mobilizing more than 100 Filipino group leaders across Saudi Arabia to encourage overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their families to enroll in SSS programs.

The agreement marks the first formal partnership between the SSS and a Filipino community network in the Middle East aimed at promoting the agency’s social protection programs, according to SSS Vice President for Asia, Americas and Pacific Operations Division Paul Erik Manalo.

Under the agreement, community leaders will help raise awareness about SSS membership and benefits, including retirement, disability, sickness and death benefits, among Filipino migrant workers in the kingdom, one of the largest destinations for overseas Filipino labor.

The initiative forms part of the SSS’s strategy to increase membership and contribution compliance among OFWs, a segment considered critical to the agency’s long-term sustainability given the large number of Filipinos working abroad and their significant contribution to the Philippine economy through remittances.

The Philippines deploys hundreds of thousands of workers annually to the Middle East, ith Saudi Arabia remaining among the top host countries for Filipino migrant workers, particularly in healthcare, construction, domestic work and service industries.

By partnering with community organizations, the SSS aims to improve access to social protection and strengthen financial security for overseas Filipinos and their dependents back home.