Villanueva files bill seeking to suspend SSS contribution hike for 2021

Sen. Joel Villanueva. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — A bill seeking to suspend the Social Security System’s (SSS) increase in contribution rate has been filed at the Senate.

Senate committee chair on labor, employment and human resources development Joel Villanueva filed the bill on Monday, he said in a televised briefing.

“Kanina pong umaga, nag-file po tayo ng Senate Bill No. 1965, finile na po natin ito kanina, ito po ay naglalayong pigilin o suspindihin ang pagtataas ng kontribusyon ng SSS, ng ating mga employees at employers for year 2021,” Villanueva said.

(Earlier this morning, we filed Senate Bill No. 1965 aiming to suspend the SSS’ increase of contribution for employees and employers this 2021.)

Villanueva noted that many Filipino workers lost their livelihoods in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

If the workers managed to retain their employment, the senator said some of them are “forced to receive lower take-home pay and compensation.”

“Given the current employment situation of the country as a result of the COVID- 19 pandemic, there is a need to ensure that workers and companies are able to fully recover and have enough resources to do so,” Villanueva said in his explanatory note.

“This bill seeks to achieve this by providing a reprieve to our battle-weary workers and employers through the suspension of the mandated increase in social security contribution rate in the event of a pandemic,” he went on.

From 12 percent last year, the increase in SSS contribution will be 13 percent starting January 2021.

The Social Security Act of 2018 allowed the Social Security Commission, SSS’ highest governing body, to increase the contribution rate by 1 percent every other year starting 2019.

JPV