The Social Security System (SSS) welcomes the idea of raising the SSS contribution rate - a measure endorsed by the country’s economic mana...
The Social Security System (SSS) welcomes the idea of raising the SSS contribution rate - a measure endorsed by the country’s economic managers – but stressed that its impact on contributing SSS members and employers should be minimized.
Social Security Commission (SSC) Chairman Dean Amado D. Valdez said that the current SSS management has already identified several measures to mitigate the impact of the benefit increase, which it hopes to implement starting with the P1,000 initial across-the-board pension hike targeted for 2017.
Earlier, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia and Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno in a recent memorandum to President Rodrigo Duterte proposed increasing the current 11 percent SSS contribution rate to 17 percent.
While the agency welcomes the idea of raising the SSS contribution rate “it should be implemented in stages, raising it by only 1.5 percent at a given time. As for the maximum monthly salary credit (MSC), we support increasing it to P20,000 to better reflect the present wages of SSS members and enable them to save up more for their retirement,” Dean Valdez said.
SSS members currently contribute 11 percent of a maximum MSC or income of only P16,000 per month. In comparison, public sector workers covered by the Government Service Insurance System contribute at a much higher 21 percent rate applied to their entire monthly income.
The SSC Chair noted that increasing the 11 percent SSS contribution rate and raising the P16,000 maximum MSC are just part of the various measures that the institution is considering to strengthen the fund’s capacity to absorb the impact of the P2,000 pension hike.
Dean Valdez emphasized that the present SSS management has a game plan to ensure that the pension fund can absorb the initial P1,0000 pension increase.
“With the guidance of the SSC, we urge SSS management to work on increasing the present rate of return on investments (ROI) to 15 to 20 percent from the current six percent through innovative investments to bolster SSS income and give additional buffer for implementing the pension increase,” Dean Valdez said.
SSS is looking at investing in infrastructure projects such as toll roads and railways under Public-Private Partnerships to provide SSS a stable and safe source of income that will be covered by government guarantees. These investments will also help spur economic development in the country.
“SSS seeks to gain ownership of up to 25 percent in utility corporations, so that even in times of power and water rate hikes, our members who comprise the working class will still benefit from the revenues generated from such increases,” Dean Valdez said.
SSS is also eyeing joint ventures with developers to maximize the gains from SSS-owned assets such as its five-hectare property at the corner of EDSA and East Avenue in Quezon City.
“Given the property’s prime location, we can generate regular earnings from building a high-rise structure with residential and commercial units for sale and lease. We can also earn from charging fees for the use of parking space in the same building and simultaneously help ease heavy traffic in the area,” he said.(SSS)
Social Security Commission (SSC) Chairman Dean Amado D. Valdez said that the current SSS management has already identified several measures to mitigate the impact of the benefit increase, which it hopes to implement starting with the P1,000 initial across-the-board pension hike targeted for 2017.
Earlier, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia and Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno in a recent memorandum to President Rodrigo Duterte proposed increasing the current 11 percent SSS contribution rate to 17 percent.
While the agency welcomes the idea of raising the SSS contribution rate “it should be implemented in stages, raising it by only 1.5 percent at a given time. As for the maximum monthly salary credit (MSC), we support increasing it to P20,000 to better reflect the present wages of SSS members and enable them to save up more for their retirement,” Dean Valdez said.
SSS members currently contribute 11 percent of a maximum MSC or income of only P16,000 per month. In comparison, public sector workers covered by the Government Service Insurance System contribute at a much higher 21 percent rate applied to their entire monthly income.
The SSC Chair noted that increasing the 11 percent SSS contribution rate and raising the P16,000 maximum MSC are just part of the various measures that the institution is considering to strengthen the fund’s capacity to absorb the impact of the P2,000 pension hike.
Dean Valdez emphasized that the present SSS management has a game plan to ensure that the pension fund can absorb the initial P1,0000 pension increase.
“With the guidance of the SSC, we urge SSS management to work on increasing the present rate of return on investments (ROI) to 15 to 20 percent from the current six percent through innovative investments to bolster SSS income and give additional buffer for implementing the pension increase,” Dean Valdez said.
SSS is looking at investing in infrastructure projects such as toll roads and railways under Public-Private Partnerships to provide SSS a stable and safe source of income that will be covered by government guarantees. These investments will also help spur economic development in the country.
“SSS seeks to gain ownership of up to 25 percent in utility corporations, so that even in times of power and water rate hikes, our members who comprise the working class will still benefit from the revenues generated from such increases,” Dean Valdez said.
SSS is also eyeing joint ventures with developers to maximize the gains from SSS-owned assets such as its five-hectare property at the corner of EDSA and East Avenue in Quezon City.
“Given the property’s prime location, we can generate regular earnings from building a high-rise structure with residential and commercial units for sale and lease. We can also earn from charging fees for the use of parking space in the same building and simultaneously help ease heavy traffic in the area,” he said.(SSS)
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