SSS, Angkas ink MOA to have 30,000 partner bikers covered by social benefits

The Social Security System (SSS) on Monday said it has inked a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with motorcycle hailing application Angkas to have some 30,000 partner bikers covered by benefits of the state-run social insurer.

Under the agreement, the SSS said Angkas partner bikers in Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, and Cagayan de Oro will be classified as self-employed SSS members, with social security benefits such as sickness, maternity, disability, retirement, funeral, and death.

They will also get additional coverage from the Employees’ Compensation (EC) program for work-related sickness, disability, and death, and access to loan programs such as salary and calamity.

Angkas, serving as an authorized Coverage and Collection Partner of SSS, can collect the monthly contributions of its active partner bikers and remit it to the SSS.

The current SSS contribution rate stands at 14%, based on the monthly contribution range of P4,000 to P30,000 for self-employed members. The lower monthly contribution is pegged at P570, and the highest at P4,230.

According to SSS executive vice president for branch operations Voltaire Agas, Angkas partner bikers earning P13,000 monthly will have a combined SSS and EC monthly contribution payment of P1,830.

“Considering the high risk of their profession by being in the field most of the time, Angkas partner bikers need solid protection that they (have) something to turn to in cases of emergencies,” SSS president and chief executive officer Rolando Macasaet said in an emailed statement.

Under its mandate, the SSS is tasked to promote social justice and provide protection to members and families against the hazards of disability, sickness, maternity, old age, death, and other contingencies resulting in loss of income or financial burden. —Jon Viktor Cabuenas/KG, GMA Integrated News