SSS has P89.1B uncollected contributions —COA

The Social Security System (SSS) has yet to collect P89.1 billion in workers' contributions from delinquent employers, according to a report from the Commission of Audit (COA).

In Mav Gonzales’ report on "24 Oras," Leilani Agudera receives a P4,000 monthly SSS pension as a beneficiary of her husband who had died after serving for 20 years as a company driver.

She uses the pension to send her youngest child to school.  At the same time, she makes sure to diligently pay her own SSS contribution.

However, Agudera admitted that her SSS contribution takes a big chunk of her budget.

“Kung malaki naman bracket ng salary mo, medyo hindi mo mararamdaman pero kung minimum wager ka, medyo mahirap kasi sa dami ng gastusin ngayon,” Agudera said.

(If you have a high salary, you won’t feel the SSS contribution but if you’re a minimum wage earner, you may experience difficulty, especially with the higher cost of basic commodities.)

Under the Social Security Act of 2018, the SSS is required to increase its contribution rate every two years, culminating in a 15% rate in 2025. Starting January 2025, employers will shoulder a 10% share of the contribution, while employees will contribute 5%.

A minimum wage earner in Metro Manila earns P645 a day. With the new contribution rate, he will pay P700 per month to SSS while his employer will pay P1,410.

Some groups rallied in Philcoa, Quezon City to protest the increase in SSS contribution rate. They said the hike coincides with the higher costs of power, water and fuel.

In a COA report in 2023, SSS was flagged for failing to collect more than P89 billion of premium contributions from 420,767 delinquent business employers and household employers as of yearend 2023.  

Of the estimated P93 billion collectibles from contributions, only P4.58 billion or 4.89 percent was collected from delinquent employers, COA added.

The audit body said the uncollected contributions have an impact on the pension firm's stability and performance. —Mariel Celine Serquiña/LDF, GMA Integrated News