The Social Security System (SSS) disbursed a total of P90.52 billion worth of Social Security and Employees Compensation (EC) benefits during the first five months of the year, aiding around 3.46 million members, pensioners, and their beneficiaries.
The pension fund said benefit disbursements from January to May 2021 were higher by 13.3 percent from P79.93 billion during the same period a year ago.
“Along with the rapidly increasing membership base is the constant rise of benefit releases to our qualified members, pensioners, and beneficiaries. This only shows that SSS remains true to its mandate of providing meaningful social security benefits to all working Filipinos, especially during times of contingencies,” SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Aurora C. Ignacio said.
Of the total benefit releases, around 99 percent or P89.92 billion were for social security benefits while the remaining P608 million were for EC benefit disbursements.
Retirement payouts amounting to P53.74 billion represents 60 percent of the entire benefit disbursements, covering over 1.81 million pensioners. The SSS also disbursed P23.72 billion in death benefits to 1.08 million claimants, P2.44 billion in disability benefits to 97,258 members, P5.99 billion maternity benefits to 157,132 female members, P1.44 billion in sickness benefits to 147,210 members, P1.96 billion funeral benefit to 84,530 claimants, and P642 million unemployment benefits to 47,764 members.
Under the EC program, the SSS also distributed P426 million death benefits to 16,492 beneficiaries, P78 million disability benefits to 2,044 members, P98 million sickness benefits to 11,663 members, P2 million for medical services to 393 members, and P3 million in funeral benefits to 114 claimants.
“On top of the regular SS benefits, employed and self-employed members are also entitled to receive EC benefits in case of work-related sickness or injury, disability or death. This is why we always reiterate in our promotional campaigns the primary responsibility of our member-employers, which is to report their workers and remit their SS and EC contributions regularly to SSS,” Ignacio explained.
Effective July 2020, benefit proceeds are released through disbursement accounts under PESONet participating banks, e-wallet, or Remittance Transfer Companies (RTC)/ Cash Pick-up Outlets (CPOs), or through Unified Multipurpose Identification (UMID) Card enrolled as ATM Card.
“As part our brand campaign, ExpreSSS—mas pinabilis, mas pinasimple at mas pinadali—we have implemented the mandatory checkless disbursement to facilitate faster release of cash benefits and loan proceeds thru the Disbursement Account Enrollment Module (DAEM) using member’s My.SSS accounts,” Ignacio explained.
The step-by-step procedure can be accessed through this link https://bit.ly/2T0uJCL.