In a forum here yesterday, SSS Senior Vice President for Luzon Operations Group Josie Magana said that benefit releases for Luzon-based members from January to November 2015 grew by P2.13 billion, for a total of P21.58 billion which was 11 percent higher than P19.45 billion disbursed for the same period in 2014.
“Pension payments of P19.06 billion for 484,137 pensioners comprised 88 percent of total benefit disbursements in Luzon. We also disbursed benefits of P1.81 billion for 226,745 covered employees, P458.46 million for 74,125 voluntary members, P205.54 million for 27,275 self-employed members, and P52.26 million for 6,428 overseas Filipino workers,” Magana noted.
Apart from the P19.06 billion disbursed for SSS pensions for retirement, disability and death, lump sum payments for these same contingencies amounted to P78.70 million, P128.49 million and P557.45 million, respectively, she said.
“The SSS also paid out P674.39 million for maternity claims; P150.18 million for sickness benefits, medical services and rehabilitation; and P932.87 million in funeral grants,” she added.
Meanwhile, contribution collections in Luzon from January to November 2015 reached P25.20 billion, which was P2.54 billion higher than the P22.66 billion total for the same 11-month period in 2014.
“Contributions for employees under large accounts, which refer to employers with at least 100 workers, amounted to P12.91 billion. It was eight percent more than our P11.98 billion total for the same 11-month period in 2014. Over half of total Luzon collections also came from large accounts,” Magana said.
She noted that “branch account collections — which covers contributions from individually- paying workers such as self-employed and voluntary members as well as payments from employers with less than 100 employees — rose to P12.29 billion, or 15 percent more than the P10.68 billion total during the first 11 months of 2014.”
