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MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang is not heeding for now the growing clamor for the President to ask the Social Security System (SSS) to postpone the implementation of its “well-studied” contribution increase as meddling in the state-run pension fund’s affairs might cause a “negative impact” on its members.
However, the Palace said it would “seriously consider” such appeals once these officially reached President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
In a Palace press briefing on Tuesday, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said they could not afford to be “arbitrary” in stepping into the SSS’ management of its affairs.
READ: Labor groups join call to halt SSS premium hike
“Those increases are well-studied and based on actuarial considerations. It’s hard for us to just tell them, don’t increase the contribution rate. We cannot be that arbitrary. We have to recognize that the SSS has a very respected actuary, and they conducted studies on this,” Bersamin pointed out.
He added that the SSS members’ benefits were being expanded and that the Palace was inclined to “let that process continue and produce results that were predicted by actuarial studies.”
“If you always meddle in the management of their affairs where they are very specialized, it will not work. It may even cause a negative impact. So we will let it be for now. I think that call may be good for next year if ever it will be reviewed,” Bersamin said.
Bigger credit lines
Starting January 2025, the SSS will implement a new contribution rate of 15 percent, or an increase of 1 percentage point, as mandated by Republic Act 11199 or the 2019 Social Security Act.
The SSS also raised the minimum monthly salary credit to P5,000 from P4,000 and the maximum monthly salary credit to P35,000 from P30,000.
This is the last tranche of contribution rate and MSC increases that began in 2019.
Under the new contribution schedule, those earning P5,250 and below a month will pay P760, of which P510 will be shouldered by the employer and P250 by the employee.
Those earning P34,750 or more a month will pay P5,280, with P3,530 to be borne by the employer and P1,750 to be paid by the employee.
“The scheduled contribution rate and MSC increases are among the most important reforms under RA 11199 that aim to ensure the long-term viability of the SSS,” SSS president and chief executive Robert Joseph de Claro said in a briefing also on Tuesday.
“This will allow us to fulfill our social security obligations to current and future members during times of contingencies,” he added.
De Claro said the contribution rate and MSC increases would result in the additional collection of about P51.5 billion this year.
Of this, P18.3 billion goes directly to the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) accounts of SSS members.
Social role
“Such additional collection amount also enables SSS to support the national government in times of difficulty, particularly as regards granting calamity loans,” De Claro said.
According to the SSS, it released a total of P9.7 billion in calamity loans to more than 500,000 calamity-stricken members last year.
He added that SSS would continue to work on universal inclusion to social security through its KaSSSangga Collect and E-Wheels Programs for the coverage of self-employed workers all over the Philippines.
“If we defer this increase, the members will not only suffer but also the SSS’ capacity to help in times of need,” De Claro said, adding that he has yet to talk with the President about the appeals to postpone the increase.
He said lawmakers blocking the 1-percent contribution rate increase should instead help the SSS and its lower-income members by participating in the SSS contribution program to cover the added contribution payment.
“Why don’t we sit down and talk about how you can help our workers by entering into agreements with the SSS on its contribution subsidy program, which is open to all private individuals? We encourage those who have more in life to also work with the SSS because you can also help specific segments of society toward their social protection,” De Claro said.
Part of campaign?
The call to defer the implementation of the SSS contribution hike came from former SSS president Rolando Macasaet, who said the state-run pension fund earned more than P80 billion in 2023 and over P100 billion in 2024.
Last week, Macasaet said the deferment of the 1-percent contribution hike would not burden SSS members nor significantly affect the fund life of the state-run pension fund.
Macasaet resigned in October last year to run in the 2025 elections as a nominee of the SSS-GSIS Pensyonado Partylist.
“You must understand the source of this call. It’s a candidate, Rolly Macasaet, who used to be president of the SSS. I don’t know if that is part of his way of campaigning,” Bersamin said.
However, the executive secretary assured that the Palace would “consider seriously if ever the issue is brought to us officially and we can understand where that call is being made.”