TIM eMagazine Vol.4 Issue 2
SSS pushes for higher
retirement savings for
OFWs
Credit: sss.gov.ph
T
he state-run Social Security System (SSS) is committed
to give Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) higher social
security benefits especially during their retirement as it
pushes to implement the compulsory coverage of OFWs
mandated under Republic Act 11199 or the Social Security
Act of 2018.
SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Aurora C.
Ignacio said the pension fund will exhaust all ways to
come out with the guidelines on compulsory OFW coverage while taking
into consideration the concerns and suggestions that were discussed
during the public forum with OFW stakeholders last 3 May.
"It was clear in the public forum that all stakeholders are united in
providing social security protection to all OFWs. However, we must settle
some issues in the implementing guidelines. We will continue to hold
SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Aurora C. Ignacio
discussions with our partners in government who are jointly man-
dated with the SSS under the new law to ensure compulsory OFW
coverage, namely the Department of Labor and Employment and its
concerned agencies such as the Philippine Overseas Employment
Administration, and the Department of Foreign Affairs. Leaders from
both land-based and sea-based OFW sectors will also be consulted
in the process, and all together, we will see how we can best imple-
ment the provisions of the law" said Ignacio.
SSS data showed that as of end-2018, there were 1.14 million
registered OFWs in the system, of which around 550,000 were
paying members during the year.
The pension fund also disbursed an estimated P5.65 billion in
benefits to more than 63,000 OFW pensioners and members in 2018,
or 89 percent of the P6.37 billion contributions collected from OFWs
on the same year.
The pension fund is proposing that all land-based OFWs should
pay at least a minimum monthly contribution of P960 which is
equivalent to 12 percent of the new minimum monthly salary credit
(MSC) for OFWs of P8,000.
Even paying only one month of contribution at the new minimum
MSC, an OFW-member will get 61 times in return from his contri-
bution or P58,400 in total lump-sum benefits for disability, death
or retirement plus funeral grant. If they opt to pay at the highest
MSC of P20,000 or P2,400 monthly contribution, the benefit amount
would be P116,000.
Sickness benefit of OFW-members will also increase under the
new minimum MSC for OFWs. From the previous P150/day, it will
increase by 60 percent to P240/day. Maternity benefit will also
increase by more than double from P10,000-P13,000 to P28,000
under the Expanded Maternity Leave Law which took effect on
March 11.
For retirement benefit, those with 120 qualifying monthly contri-
butions at P8,000 MSC will have a basic monthly pension amounting
to P3,200. If they are paying based on the P20,000 MSC, the pension
benefit will be P8,000 per month. This shows that the higher the
contributions, the higher the benefits.
"We'd like our OFWs to know that membership with SSS is for life.
Membership does not expire so all contributions you put in are all
accounted for. In case you stopped paying due to work abroad, you
can always reactivate your membership by continuing to pay your
contribution to become eligible to the seven types of SSS benefits
including unemployment insurance. I hope our OFWs will look at
SSS contributions as their long-term savings and not an expense
burden," Ignacio said.
Ignacio said that SSS as an implementor of the law will make sure
that all provisions under the SS Act of 2018 will be fully-realized.
At present, SSS has 26 foreign representative offices in 18
countries for OFW member assistance services.
www.sss.gov.ph/
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