SSS workers' investment, savings program hits P79 billion in 2023
At A Glance
- Rhe Social Security System's (SSS) Workers' Investment and Savings Program (WISP), a mandatory provident fund scheme, accumulated P79.5 billion by December 2023.<br>Contributions came from 6.02 million members.<br>WISP functions as an additional savings option for private-sector employees and other individual contributors to the SSS under Republic Act 11199.<br>Program includes self-employed individuals, overseas workers, and voluntary members with a monthly salary credit exceeding P20,000.<br>SSS also launched WISP Plus in 2022, a voluntary retirement savings program exclusively for SSS members, which had around P391.63 million in contributions from 30,536 members by Dec. 31, 2023.<br>WISP annualized return was 5.33 percent, while WISP Plus was at 6.87 percent.
The Department of Finance (DOF) reported that the Social Security System (SSS) collected nearly P80 billion from its Workers’ Investment and Savings Program (WISP) as of last year.
The DOF said that since its inception in 2021, WISP, a mandatory provident fund scheme, has accumulated a total of P79.5 billion as of December 2023, with contributions coming from 6.02 million members.
Under Republic Act 11199, also known as the Social Security Act, WISP functions as an additional savings option for private-sector employees and other individual contributors to the SSS.
Aside form private-sector workers, the program also includes self-employed individuals, overseas workers, and voluntary members who do not have a final claim, contribute to the regular SSS program, and have a monthly salary credit exceeding P20,000.
Due to the success of the program, the SSS launched in 2022 the WISP Plus– a voluntary retirement savings program exclusively for SSS members and serves as a support apart from regular retirement benefits.
The WISP Plus contributions reached around P391.63 million from 30,536 members as of Dec. 31, 2023.
WISP Plus actual investment portfolios amounted to P1.41 billion as of December 2023.
Meanwhile, the annualized return (or the measure of how much an investment has increased each year) on the investment of WISP was recorded at 5.33 percent, while WISP Plus was at 6.87 percent.
The WISP program allows members to invest and earn returns from their contributions, and embodies the core principle of "Work, Save, Invest, and Prosper."
WISP contributions are paid together with regular SSS contributions, where members are entitled to disability and death benefits, as well as a retirement fund.
WISP is one of the key provisions under the Social Security Act, which ensures that SSS responds to the evolving needs of its stakeholders.
The law ensured that all employees including domestic workers, overseas Filipino workers, as well as those self-employed, are included in the pension system in case of emergencies that may result in financial loss or burden.