SSS pensioners to get P1K hike by January

By Luis Leoncio

The pension of more than 2 million members of state pension fund Social Securi­ty System (SSS) will be raised by P1,000 a month starting next year after both chambers of Congress passed a resolu­tion last week calling for the immediate pension increase.

Another P1,000 in addi­tional monthly pension needed the enactment of a law for the pension adjustment accompa­nied by measures to raise the revenues of the pension fund.

Social Security Commis­sion (SSC) Chairman Amado D. Valdez said the resolution assures pensioners will re­ceive the additional P1,000 in time for January 2017.

SSS earlier said it need­ed the formal approval of the proposal before the year ends, since pensions are disbursed to banks the month prior to their scheduled release.

The members of the Senate approved the reso­lution proposed by Sena­tor Richard J. Gordon just before session adjourned for the Christmas break.

“We manifest that it is the sense of the Senate to in­crease the monthly pension of all SSS pensioners by P1,000 effective immediately,” Gor­don said in the resolution. “This is the first tranche. Congress wants to give the second by 2019, by June 2018 I will call for a meeting with the SSS so that we can discuss the second tranche,” he said.

The House Committee on Government Enterprises and Privatization headed by North Cotabato Rep. Jesus Sacdalan passed the House counterpart of the resolution. “I know a P1,000-peso increase is not really much, I would prefer to give P6,000.

But it would not do to force the SSS to give a higher increase which could short­en its life span,” he added.

“In January, we will meet with SSS officials to discuss proposals on how they can increase their collection and income from, among other measures, the non-perform­ing assets that they have and to encourage them to increase the collection efficiency and coverage ratio,” Gordon added.

Gordon said a law was not needed for the SSS to increase benefits received by its mem­bers, adding that the last time the pension fund increased monthly pension was in 2014, when it implemented a P60 pension increase which was implemented without a law.

Gordon also cited Sen­ate President Aquilino Pi­mentel III, Senate Minori­ty Leader Ralph Recto, and Senators Cynthia Villar and Joel Villanueva as being sup­portive of the resolution.

Valdez said a joint reso­lution on the P2,000 pension increase would first have to be passed by the House of Repre­sentatives and the Senate, and then a Commission Resolution shall be sent to Malacañang for the formal approval of Presi­dent Rodrigo R. Duterte, be­fore SSS can implement it.

“SSS is also guided by the Department of Finance in en­suring that the implementa­tion of the proposed pension increase will not drive the fund to the brink of bankruptcy.

We are wary of possi­ble criticisms for our support to the pension increase, and we don’t want to be seen as irresponsible,” Valdez said.

Valdez said Finance Secre­tary Carlos Dominguez Is keen on ensuring that SSS funds would last at least until 2039.

SSS funds are currently projected to last until 2042, but granting the entire P2,000 pen­sion increase in 2017 will short­en fund life to only until 2025.

“Based on our actuari­al valuation of the proposed implementation of the initial P1,000 hike, SSS funds are projected to last until 2032.

However, we are optimis­tic in adding more years to our fund life, making it last until 2050 by 2022 should SSS suc­ceed in the innovations it plans to undertake to shore up its revenues,” Dean Valdez said.

Among the initial mea­sures targeted by the new SSS management to raise reve­nue flows include investing in infrastructure such as toll roads and railways and secur­ing up to 25 percent of own­ership in utility corporations.

The pension fund has also tightened its monitoring of employers’ SSS compliance. SSS is also consider­ing possible joint ventures with developers to maximize gains from SSS assets such as its five-hectare property in Quezon City at the corner of EDSA and East Avenue, part of which can be converted to a high-rise building for resi­dential and commercial use.

Valdez said that the East Avenue development will in­clude a high-rise parking to help ease EDSA traffic.

He said SSS continues to work closely with legislators, whom he credited for acknowl­edging the rationale behind balancing the need to grant higher pensions with preserv­ing the long-term viability of SSS funds for the benefit of currently-paying members who are future SSS pensioners.

“The legislators have heeded the voice of the peo­ple who have been clamoring for the increase in SSS pen­sions.

The same sentiment is shared by President Duter­te, who understands that the current SSS pension amounts are inadequate to meet the fi­nancial needs of the country’s retirees,” Valdez said.