SSS sickness benefits releases down by 38.6% to P1.82B in 2020 —official

Sickness benefits claims declined by 38.6% to P1.82 billion in 2020 compared to the previous year's level as  COVID-19 quarantine restrictions affected the number of transactions, state pension agency Social Security System said Friday.

According to the SSS, sickness benefits disbursements last year benefitted 269,604 members, lower than the 458,851 in 2019 with releases amounting to P2.97 billion.

Likewise, it said that the P1.82-billion disbursements came from the SSS’ Social Security (SS) Fund.

In a statement, SSS president and CEO Aurora Ignacio attributed the decrease in claims applications to the nationwide community quarantine, which affected transactions in all of the agency's branches.

"Comparatively, SS Fund total sickness benefit disbursements in 2016 amounted to P2.17 billion, and in 2017, it reached P2.42B. It further increased to P2.65B in 2018 and P2.97B in 2019," Ignacio said.

She added, "We are expecting the figures will increase for 2021 as the government eases community quarantine guidelines that will allow more people to go out of their respective homes." 

Moreover, she said he same trend was observed in the number of beneficiaries who availed of SS sickness benefits.

In 2016, a total of 388,623 members were paid out, then the number rose to 419,563 in 2017; 428,296 in 2018; and 458,851 in 2019.

Ignacio elaborated that the SSS sickness benefit is a daily cash allowance granted to qualified members confined at home or in the hospital for at least four days, including the recovery period due to an illness or injury.

Also, the number of compensable days is up to 120 days per calendar year that can be extended for another 120 days the following year on account of the same medical condition.

Illnesses or injuries that persist for over 240 days can qualify for SSS disability benefits, it added.

In July 2020, the SSS implemented an online Social Security (SS) Sickness Benefit Reimbursement Applications (SBRAs) of employers through its website.

This online facility for SBRAs is available at the My.SSS web portal.

It allows employers to file sickness benefit reimbursement claims conveniently, without having to wait for the hard copy of the approved sickness notification and the need to submit a duly accomplished SBRA form to an SSS office after giving advance payment to the employee.

Ignacio said the development of this online facility is aligned with the SSS' ongoing digital transformation drive, now made more significant due to the health and safety protocols imposed by the government to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

"Aside from expediting the processing time of sickness benefit reimbursements by eliminating the transmission of claims from SSS Branches to Processing Centers, this online facility will also reduce face-to-face interactions in our branches to help government efforts to stop spreading the virus," she added.

Likewise, the disbursements for sickness benefit under the SSS’s Employees' Compensation (EC) Fund also decreased in 2020 to P186.41 million, benefitting 22,757 members.

EC sickness benefit disbursement in 2016 reached P100.44 million to 25,201 members, then P121.29 million for 30,325 members in 2017, to P140.13 million for 31,662 members in 2018, and then P257.01 million for 34,860 in 2019.

The pension fund has a total of 38.8 million members as of December 2020, of which only 41.7% or 16.18 million are regular paying members. —LBG, GMA News