The SSS-GSIS Partylist is pushing for a P1,000 across-the-board increase in the monthly pension of Social Security System (SSS) members who have retired from their regular jobs in the private sector.
With at least one nominee getting a seat in the House of Representatives, the SSS-GSIS Partylist will immediately file a bill that will amend Section 12 of Republic Act 1161 or the Social Security Act of 1997 which provides the current amounts of pension being given to SSS pensioners.
The latest amendment to the law was made 18 years ago under Republic Act 8282.
It was President Rodrigo Duterte who approved a P1,000 across-the-board pension hike for SSS members in January 2017.
That same year, the Social Security Commission, the highest policy-making body in the SSS, announced that another P1,000 pension hike will be given to SSS pensioners before Duterte’s term ends in 2022.
The second-step hike of the additional P1,000 did not materialize since the SSS management deemed it prudent not to give-in to a populist move that will eventually be detrimental to the fiscal health of the state pension fund.
Presidential Veto of P2,000 Hike for SSS Pension
Prior to President Duterte’s approval of the P1,000 across-the-board hike for SSS pensioners, Congress passed a bill in 2015 that mandated a P2,000 monthly pension increase but this was vetoed by then President Noynoy Aquino.
House Bill 5842, or the Social Security Act, seeks to amend Section 12 of Republic Act 1161 or the Social Security Act of 1997 through the granting of an across-the-board P2,000 increase in the monthly pension of SSS members.
The Senate approved the bill on final reading on November 9, 2015 which was then good news for the estimated 1.9 million SSS pensioners.
House Bill 5842 was approved with 15 affirmative votes, with one negative vote by Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile with no abstention.
Senator Enrile was against the bill because the granting of the “generous benefit” to SSS pensioners would eventually lead to the “bankruptcy of the SSS.”
The HB 5842 was sponsored in the Senate by Senator Cynthia Villar, Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto, and Senators Teofisto “TG” Guingona III, Joseph Victor Ejercito, Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., Chiz Escudero, Jinggoy Ejercito-Estrada, Ferdinand “Bongbong Marcos Jr. and Deputy Minority Leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto, III.
Populist Senators Push for SSS Pension Hike
Then Senate President Franklin Drilon described the passage of the bill is “an early Christmas gift of the Senate to the SSS pensioners, who depend on these pensions for their daily expenses,”
Villar, who was then the chair of the Committee on Government Corporations and Public Enterprises and principal sponsor of HB 5842, was on the populist opinion that given the rising cost of living, “it is high time we give our retirees and their family a monthly pension that will allow them to at least live with dignity.”
Villar also had this populist notion: “We must also consider that many of our retired workers, given their old age, have maintenance medicines and special requirements that add to their daily living expenses. Increasing their pension is the least we could do to reward them for decades of hardwork.”
Villar then adds: “While the SSS provided a five percent across-the-board pension increase for its retired members in 2014, it is admitted that such five percent increase is definitely inadequate and not sufficient to cover the rising cost of living for the past 18 years.”
Villar cited data from the National Statistical Coordinating Board which pegged monthly poverty threshold for a family of five at P8,022 per month.
Poverty threshold refers to the minimum income a family or individual must earn in order to be considered “not poor.” That the average SSS pensioner receives P3,169 means that the amount makes them living below the poverty threshold, according to Villar.
“I do not think that the basis for which the SSS was established – that of promoting social justice and providing meaningful protection to its members and their beneficiaries against the hazards of old age, loss of income, among others – is at work,” Villar lamented.
Senator Recto’s Populism
Roughly 1.5 million of the SSS pensioners of about 81.5 percent received a monthly pension below P4,000 in 2012. The amount is less than the daily minimum wage and was below the poverty line set by government, according to Recto, who is now secretary of the Department of Finance under the Marcos administration.
Recto then maintained that the consolidated bill seeks an across-the-board increase of P2,000 on the monthly SSS pension.
“In effect, those receiving the minimum pension of P1,200 per month will now receive P3,200 under this bill. The average SSS pensioner gets about P3,169 a month. If this bill becomes law, his pension will increase to P5,169,” he said.
Recto said the increase in monthly SSS pension will not result in underspending since pensioners will spend their money and boost the domestic economy.
At the House of Representatives, the bill was introduced by Representatives Neri Colmenares, Carlos Isagani Zarate, Mark Villar, Jesus Sacdalan, Marlyn Primicias-Agabas, Cresente Paez, Agapito Guanlao, Edgardo Masongsong, Leah Paquiz and Antonio Tinio.
SSS-GSIS Partylist to push for P1,000 pension hike for SSS pensioners
There is now a general expectation that every current SSS pensioner will receive an additional ₱1,000 to their monthly benefits if they meet the requirements for the increase.
The SSS has talked about increasing its pension benefits in the past. However, there’s no official confirmation that the SSS will implement the ₱1,000 increase this July or before the end of 2024.
The SSS-GSIS Partylist believes that given the current level of inflation, there is a need for another round of P1,000 across-the-board increase for al pensioners.
“If given the opportunity to be elected to Congress next year, the SSS-GSIS Partylist will revive the bill for a P1,000 hike in SSS pension and this will be guided by due diligence to make sure that the financial health of the SSS will allow such an increase,” SSS-GSIS spokesperson Fercival Yutan said.
The SSS-GSIS Partylist spokesperson also reminded pensioners on the following the criteria that a current SSS pensioner must meet to earn eligibility for the ₱1,000 increase in their benefits:
“They should be at least 60 years old and have completed a minimum of 36 monthly contributions,” the SSS-GSIS Partylisy spokesperson said.
He added that if an SSS pensioner has a permanent total disability, he or she can claim an early pension after a minimum of 12 monthly contributions.
