House approves twin SSS bills

Opening session of Congress. INQUIRER PHOTO/LYN RILLON

The House of Representatives on Monday approved on third and final reading two key bills on the Social Security System (SSS) – one seeking to increase the monthly pension for SSS members, and another expanding the powers of the SSS to increase the rate of premium.

The lower chamber voted 233 in the affirmative, zero against, and one abstention on House Joint Resolution 10, which seeks to increase to P3,200 the pension for members with at least 10 credited years of service, and P4,400 pension for members with 20 years of service.

The Joint Resolution No. 10 sought to increase the monthly pension by at least P2,000 under the Social Security Act of 1997.

READ: Bayan Muna lawmaker: SSS pension hike to be approved in January 2017

The resolution also said that the P2,000 increase would be divided into two tranches – the first tranche amounting to P1,000 would be given starting January 2017, and the second tranche of P1,000 on January 2019.

READ: SSS hike committee report gets approval

The approved joint resolution fits in President Rodrigo Duterte’s approval of the P1,000 pension hike this month.

Malacañang is eyeing to implement another tranche of P1,000 pension hike by 2019 or 2022.

READ: Duterte OKs P1,000 SSS pension hike

Twin bill

Meanwhile, the lower House approved on final reading House Bill 2158 by a vote of 227 members, seven against, and zero abstentions.

House Bill 2158 seeks to rationalize and expand the powers and duties of the Social Security Commission and the Social Security System, amending for this purpose the SSS Act of 1997.

The approved bill seeks to delete from the SSS Charter the provision that prohibits any increase in benefit sourced from an increase in the rate of contribution.

The passage of the bill into final reading seals the loophole in the SSS charter that serves as a stumbling block to Duterte’s approval of the P1,000 pension hike for SSS members.

READ: Makabayan: Charter prohibits funding SSS pension hike from premium 

Militant lawmakers earlier said the SSS charter prohibits financing the pension hike by increasing the rate of contribution.

Malacañang said there will also be a 1.5-percent contribution rate hike in May 2017 and an increase in monthly salary credit to P20,000 based from P16,000, to finance the pension hike.

This would put the contribution rate from the current 11 percent to 12.5 percent, which could go up to 17 percent over the next six years.

House Bill 2158 amended the SSS charter by deleting the provision in Section 4(b)(2): “Provided, further, That such increases in benefits shall not require any increase in the rate of contribution.”

The bill also added among the Social Security Commission’s powers and duties “to determine and fix from time to time, through rules and regulations, the minimum and maximum monthly salary credits of member-employees, the schedule and the rate of contributions of employers and member employees” without the need for approval of the president.

The bill also gave the Social Security Commission the power to determine the rate of penalty on due but unremitted contributions of employers and member-employees and unpaid loan amortization without the need for the president’s approval.

While he lauded the SSS pension hike, Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate said he voted no to House Bill 2158 because the amendment to the SSS charter may be used to increase contribution without first pursuing reforms in the SSS.

“We call on the people, particularly the pensioners — whom we give due credit for this victory– to continue pushing for needed reforms in our pension system,” Zarate said./ac