SSS stands firm on requirement that OFWs solely shoulder contributions

The state-run private sector pension fund Social Security System (SSS) on Tuesday said it stood firm on the implementation of certain provisions in the Social Security Act that required land-based overseas Filipino workers (OFW) to solely shoulder their monthly premiums.

In a statement, the SSS said that it had to implement Republic Act No. 11199 or the Social Security Act of 2018 "until such time that it is declared unconstitutional."

The state pension fund noted that OFWs must save with the SSS to avail of the agency's benefits in times of contingencies.

"The agency stands by the decision of the lawmakers to provide meaningful social protection to all Filipinos based here and abroad," the SSS emphasized.

Migrante International and members of the House of Representative's Makabayan bloc had asked the Supreme Court to issue a temporary restraining order on the enforcement of several provisions of the Social Security Act of 2018 and its implementing rules and regulations (IRR). 

The two groups were challenging the provisions that places land-based and sea-based OFWs under compulsory coverage of the SSS, and which declared land-based OFWs as self-employed workers who had to pay for their contribution by themselves without an employers’ share.

While the SSS would consider all concerns regarding the mandatory coverage of OFWs, they were nevertheless duty-bound to implement the law.

SSS data showed that from January to June 2019, OFW paying members or those who have paid at least one month of premium contributions, stood at 534,699, despite the latest Philippine Statistics Office data which counted 2.3 million OFWs from April to September 2018.

In 2018, SSS disbursed more than P4.23 billion worth of benefits to more than 61,406 land-based overseas Filipino worker-members. This was 66 percent of the P6.37 billion in contributions collected from land-based OFWs on the same year, thus required the SSS to tap into the OFW savings at the pension fund to finance the disbursements.

Under the law, OFWs could avail of seven SSS benefits - sickness, maternity, disability, unemployment, retirement, funeral, and death or survivor pension. — John Ted Cordero/DVM, GMA News