About half-million temporary gov’t workers getting SSS coverage

The facade of the Social Security System (SSS) in Quezon City. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — More than half a million temporary government workers are now covered by the membership expansion program of the Social Security System (SSS), making them eligible for compensation benefits.

In a statement on Wednesday, the state-run firm handling the pension fund for private sector workers said the program would benefit state employees under job order (JO) and contract of service (COS) arrangements who were not covered by the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).

The program named “KaSSSangga Collect” allows temporary public workers to be registered as self-employed members, while their respective organizations will collect and remit their contributions to the SSS.

Highest in QC

So far, the biggest membership coverage was recorded in Quezon City with around 15,000 JOs, thanks to an agreement between SSS and the local government signed last January.

Prior to this, the pension fund had existing partnerships with the local governments of Mandaluyong, Taguig and Malabon.

The SSS said it sealed partnerships with 32 government institutions in the National Capital Region in January.

An additional 74 program partners from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao also joined the agreements which secured the SSS membership of 2,251 temporary government workers.

The SSS executive vice president for branch operations sector, Voltaire Agas, urged other local government officials and public sector leaders to extend social security protection to their constituents and colleagues by subsidizing their monthly SSS contributions.

“They can shoulder the contribution payments of their chosen recipients for at least six months through the Contribution Subsidy Provider Program. Let us join forces to invest in the future of our fellow workers in government through equitable social security protection,” Agas said.

“As they are exposed to various health hazards while performing their duties, the more these workers deserve social security protection regardless of their employment status in the government,” he said.

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Boost in collections

But beyond helping the government provide social security protection to as many Filipinos as possible, the expanded membership program was also a big financial boost for the SSS.

SSS said it collected more than P7.08 billion worth of workers’ contributions from 2015 to 2023 under the program. Broken down, over 2,100 local government units remitted P4.66 billion in contributions, while almost 700 national government agencies and state-run corporations paid P2.03 billion.

More than 100 state colleges and universities remitted P289.91 million to the SSS while 86 local water districts paid P97.64 million.

“We commend the proactive stance of our partners in the government sector in providing adequate social safety nets to their JO and COS workers through active SSS membership,” Agas said.

In 2023, SSS recorded a net income of P83.13 billion and contribution collections of P309.12 billion.