STATE-RUN Social Security System (SSS) on Monday said it breached its 2017 target revenue, with P200.5 billion in total earnings from members’ contributions and investment and other income last year.
SSS’ unaudited financial performance showed that its total revenues for the period January to December 2017 increased by P26.04 billion from P174.46 billion in 2016, and were 5.6 percent higher than the P189.79-billion target.
“We achieved good numbers in 2017 on the back of our intensified campaign to increase our collections. We are pleased that the efforts of the SSS management and employees paid off ,” SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel F. Dooc said.
Contribution collection, which comprised the bulk of the pension fund’s revenue for 2017 was at P159.72 billion, up 10.6 percent or P15.36 billion from P144.36 billion in 2016.
The remaining P40.78 billion in total revenues came from investment and other income, which soared 35.5 percent from P30.10 billion in 2016. Similarly, expenditures of the pension fund for the period, which included benefit payments and operating expenses, jumped 26.5 percent to P180.2 billion from P142.46 billion in 2016.
Of the total expenditures, P170.68 billion were released for benefit payments, which climbed 28.4 percent from P132.98 billion in 2016. SSS grants benefits for maternity, sickness, disability, retirement and death to qualified active members under the regular Social Security Program.
“In 2017, SSS fulfilled President Duterte’s promise to give higher benefits to our pensioners. We have disbursed roughly P33.5 billion to cover the additional benefit to pensioners starting January 2017. As a result, our expenditures, which were made up largely by benefit payments, saw a huge increase compared to 2016, wherein no additional benefit was enjoyed by the pensioners,” Dooc said.
Operating expenses, which accounted for five percent of SSS’ total disbursements, meanwhile, showed a slight increase to P9.52 billion from P9.48 in 2016 but were still below the allowed amount mandated by the SS Charter.
“Our operating expenses are way below our allowable expense under the Social Security Law of 1991, which is equivalent to not more than 12 percent of the total yearly contributions and 3 percent of other revenues,” Dooc said.
“We’ll strive to make benefits more relevant while ensuring financial viability through the support of all our stakeholders, especially our legislators, who are now studying the proposed SS Charter Amendment Act due for bicameral hearing soon.” Dooc added.
