MANILA, Philippines — Senator Raffy Tulfo has asked the Senate panel on social justice, welfare, and rural development to conduct an inquiry into the reported “long and tedious system” of processing the benefits and pensions of Social Security System (SSS) members.
The neophyte legislator recently filed Senate Resolution 544, calling for the committee to look into the process employed by the state-run insurer for claiming benefits, especially retirement claims.
“Delays in processing claims have caused difficulties for retirees who are relying on their benefits for their daily living and have even resulted in financial hardships for some,” Tulfo’s resolution read.
He also stressed the responsibility of the Senate to ensure that government agencies like the SSS are efficiently performing their duties to the public, especially if they have members contributing to their system.
Tulfo is calling for the panel inquiry to tackle the existing process and average time of claiming SSS benefits, reasons for the delays and actions being taken to address it, possible reforms to improve the efficiency of processing claims, the feasibility of extending the period for filing claims and doing it online, need for additional funding and manpower in the insurance company, and the possible establishment of a monitoring system to track and update members on the progress of their claims.
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