Part One
Through the stewardship of the Social Security Commission (SSC), led by Chairman Juan B. Santos and the Social Security System (SSS) Management, headed by president and CEO Emilio S. de Quiros Jr., the SSS, during the last six years, centered its priorities to be transparent, consultative and more service-focused to better respond to the needs of the members. And as committed public servants, the entire work force concentrated on fulfilling their sworn responsibilities to provide effective, responsive and member-focused services. The past six years were marked by reforms and innovations that have made the institution stronger and more stable.
The SSS is mandated to care for private-sector workers. Republic Act (RA) 1161, as amended by RA 8282, details the social contract that binds the institution to its members, who now, after 58 years, number close to 34 million. Social insurance provides a guarantee of protection against sickness, old age, disability and death.
With just a single contribution, the member is afforded minimum protection that could go beyond the member’s lifetime if he or she continues to contribute and accumulates at least 36 months of contributions. The SSS provides the kind of protection that is passed on to the legal beneficiaries upon the demise of a member—thus, a kind of protection that lasts beyond a lifetime.
With reforms implemented to improve SSS’s financial health, benefit programs were gradually enhanced, and annual benefit payments saw a trending increase over the past five years. From P77.2 billion in 2010, benefit payments for 2014 increased by 33 percent to P102.6 billion. By end of 2015, benefit payments reached P112.6 billion.
Without jeopardizing the financial viability of the pension fund, the SSS was able to implement the following benefit enhancements during the period:
- A 5-percent across-the-board increase in pensions, granted on June 1, 2014, for some 1.8 million disability, death and retirement pensioners.
- Increase in the amount of SSS funeral benefit, from a fixed amount of P20,000 to a variable amount ranging from a minimum of P20,000 to a maximum of P40,000, depending on a member’s number of contributions and average monthly salary credit. The increase became effective on August 1, 2015.
- While the SSS has never failed to give members their benefits—the largest percentage of which are for retirement and death claims—it also continues to undertake measures to strengthen controls in benefit payments and to prevent fraud in benefit claims. A crucial part of the benefits program is ensuring that benefits due are paid to eligible members and the rightful beneficiaries. Not only do benefit control procedures protect the system from fraud, they also guarantee that funds are used as intended.
- Resumption of Annual Confirmation of Pensioners (Acop) Program. After its suspension in 2006, the Acop Program was reinstated in 2012 to safeguard the system from fraudulent claims. Under the Acop, pensioners are required to visit any SSS branch or their depository bank to validate their continuing eligibility for pension. For easier recall, the schedule of Acop compliance was moved from the contingency month to the member’s birth month. Pensioners unable to make a personal appearance—such as retirees with poor health, under confinement, or based overseas—are given special consideration and can submit their required documents via mail or through their designated representative. Plans are also under way to allow Acop compliance through Skype or video calls.
- Partnership with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA, formerly National Statistics Office). In February 2014 a data-matching program, which regularly scans the civil registry for deaths and marriages of pensioners to verify their continued eligibility to pension, was implemented. Through this partnership, the SSS no longer required the Acop visit or submission of documents for pensioners aged 80 and above, and instead, checked their current status using PSA records.
- Automatic review of denied benefit claims. With the welfare of members and beneficiaries in mind, the management established the Benefits Review Committee (BenRC) and the Medical Claims Review Committee (MedCRC). Both committees are composed of senior officials tasked to further review and evaluate the claims denied by the branches or processing centers, as well as medical claims rejected by medical specialists. The committee members deliberate on the merits of the denied claims and may either sustain or reverse the denial based on existing laws and policies. Since it started in 2014, the BenRC has received 322 benefit claims, while the MedCRC has accepted 327 medical claims for review and evaluation.
To be continued
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For more details on SSS programs, members can drop by the nearest SSS branch, visit the SSS web site (www.sss.gov.ph), or contact the SSS Call Center at 920-6446 to 55, which accepts calls from 7 a.m. on Monday all the way to 7 a.m. on Saturday.
Susie G. Bugante is the vice president for public affairs and special events of the SSS. Send comments about this column to susiebugante.bmirror@gmail.com.
1 comment
Why dont you trace the INCREASE in salary and benefits for Senior SSS management in the last six years! Im sure its more than what you have given to real MEMBERS of the SSS!