Senate, House OK hike in SSS retirees’ pension

The Senate committee on government corporations and public enterprises agreed on Monday to come up with a joint resolution with the House of Representatives granting a P1,000 increase in the monthly pension of Social Security System (SSS) members in January next year, and another P1,000 increase in 2022.

The agreement was forged at the second hearing of the Senate committee chaired by Sen. Richard Gordon.

The push for an increase in the SSS pension was revived months after then President Benigno Aquino III vetoed a proposed P2,000 increase in the monthly pension due to concerns that this would put the SSS funds in peril.

“[The proposed P1,000 hike] is what we can afford now. Reserves will be compromised [if we grant a P2,000 increase]. We do not want them to lose money,” Gordon told reporters.

Gordon said his committee would push for the immediate passage of the proposed joint resolution so that SSS pensioners could avail of the increase by December.

He said the proposed resolution would also include another P1,000 increase to be implemented in 2022 or “even earlier.”

Gordon also did not think President Duterte would veto the proposed resolution, noting that the SSS itself recommended the amount of increase in the monthly pension.

New SSS chair Amado Valdez told the committee that the SSS was pushing for the P1,000 increase to be implemented in January next year and told Gordon that the House was amenable to the increase.

Valdez also said the SSS was also pushing for another P1,000 increase in 2022.

“We heard the clamor of the people,” Valdez said.

Gordon said the hearing saw the SSS agreeing to look for solutions on “how we can increase the funds, recruit more members and employers to pay the SSS of their employees.”

The senator said among the solutions was for the SSS to invest its funds like other countries have done.