SSS books P362.2B in revenues in 2023 to exceed target

Private sector workers’ pension fund Social Security System (SSS) on Wednesday said its revenue collection in 2023 exceeded target on the back of improved collection efforts and substantial income from its investments.

In a statement, SSS said it collected P362.2 billion, surpassing its P330.8-billion goal by 9.5%. This was also the pension fund’s highest revenue.

“Our 2023 financial performance is indicative of the efforts of the SSS management and employees in intensifying its collection activities and the prudent management of our investments. The P309.12-billion contribution collection exceeds our 2023 target of P294.49 by P14.62 billion. It is 18.2% higher than the P261.44 billion collected in 2022,” said SSS president and CEO Rolando Macasaet.

SSS said contribution collection remained the primary revenue source of the pension fund last year, amounting to P309.12 billion.

“This is attributed to new paying members, improved collection from delinquent employers, and the 2023 contribution rate hike. Additionally, the remaining P53.08 billion came from revenue from investments,” said Macasaet.

In particular, contributions from new paying members stood at P10.48 billion.

“New initiatives were implemented to expand the SSS membership and reach out to more workers. As a result, at least 1.4 million new members were added to SSS in 2023,” said SSS executive vice president for branch operations sector Voltaire Agas.

The higher revenues in 2023 can also be attributed to the high collection of delinquencies from employers who are not remitting their employees’ contributions, according to Agas.

The contribution rate hike also contributed P27.84 billion to SSS’s total revenues last year.

“In January 2023, under Republic Act 11199 or the Social Security Act of 2018, SSS implemented a 1% rate hike, bringing its contribution rate to 14% from the previous 13%,” said Macasaet.

Meanwhile, revenue from investment and other income in 2023 amounted to P53.08 billion, exceeding the target of P36.31 billion by P16.77 billion.

“Total revenues from investment and other income last year were also higher than the P44.72 billion revenues generated in 2022, which indicates that the SSS investment portfolio is being managed well and that we continue to perform well in our investment activities whatever the prevailing market conditions,” said Macasaet.

The pension fund’s expenditures grew to P270.48 billion from P253.56 billion year-on-year.

“Of the total expenditures, P259.03 billion were released for benefit payments, which jumped by P16.22 billion from P242.81 billion in 2022. SSS grants benefits for maternity, sickness, disability, unemployment, retirement, funeral, and death to qualified members,” said Macasaet. — VBL, GMA Integrated News