State-owned Social Security System (SSS) has justified the contribution increase beginning next year, saying it would help fund higher benefit disbursements to its members.

In a statement, Michael G. Regino, SSS president and chief executive officer, said the one percentage point increase in 2023 is part of the four-stage contribution rate hike under the Social Security Act of 2018.

Under the law, SSS should gradually increase the contribution rate until it reaches 15 percent by 2025. Starting Jan. 1, 2023, the new contribution rate will be pegged at 14 percent from the current 13 percent.

The hike readies the SSS fund for the future needs of its members, Regino said.

“We have already expanded the benefits to our members such as the unemployment benefit, and maternity benefit under the Expanded Maternity Leave Law (EMLL),” Regino said.

“Both these benefits, however have no particular source of funding but since 2019, we have continuously given these benefits to our members,” he added.

From 2019 until October 2022, SSS has already disbursed P3.78 billion in unemployment benefits to more than 287,000 members.

Likewise, the annual maternity benefit disbursement rose by 78 percent from P7.07 billion in 2018 to P12.54 billion in 2022.

The SSS chief also said that the previous contribution increases boosted benefit disbursements for its members.

“From January 2019 to October 2022, we have released P822.86 billion benefits to our members, which is 38 percent higher than the P596.30 billion benefit disbursements from January 2015 to December 2018 prior to the amendment of the Social Security Law,” he added.

Moreover, Regino said the latest SSS actuarial valuation revealed that the fund life would last until 2054.

“The reforms in the contribution rates are among the factors that helped boosted our fund life brought by Republic Act No. 11199 or the Social Security Act of 2018,” he said.

This is an indicator that the pension fund has enough funds to support the short-term and immediate financial needs of our members and pensioners in the decades to come.

Under the new rate, employers would shoulder the one percentage point increase for its members with employers. The employee’s share will remain at 4.5 percent, while the employer’s share will increase to 9.5 percent from the current 8.5 percent.

For individual paying members such as self-employed, voluntary, non-working spouse, and overseas Filipino workers members, they will shoulder the whole 14 percent contribution rate since they have no employers.

Moreover, there will be an adjustment to the minimum monthly salary credit (MSC) from P3,000 to P4,000, while the maximum MSC will increase from P25,000 to P30,000.

“The new SSS contribution rate is also a great opportunity to help our members beef up their retirement savings through its mandatory provident fund program or the Worker’s Investment and Savings Program (WISP),” Regino said.

“We want our members to have a comfortable retirement after their productive years. Every additional peso that a member contributes is more savings for their retirement. This is the principle that we want them to adapt---WORK, SAVE, INVEST, and PROSPER,” he added.