DESPITE THE economic hardship due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Social Security System or SSS has imposed a one percent hike in contribution rate from 12% to 13% starting this month.
SSS said this hike is pursuant to the enactment of Republic Act No. 11199, otherwise known as the Social Security Act of 2018 in February 2019.
The contribution share for all employers will now be set to 8.5 percent, while the portion of employees' contribution will become 4.5 percent. Both will gain a half-percentage point increase from last year's sharing of 8 percent and 4 percent, respectively.
For regular employers, SSS said this translates to an additional P95 in the employer share of the monthly contribution for its employees, who fall under the new minimum monthly salary credit or MSC of P3,000, and an additional P525 in the employer share for its employees who fall under the new maximum MSC of P25,000.
It said part of the changes in the contribution rate and MSC ceiling will require those members with active contributions in the regular SSS program, without final claim, and with salary brackets of P20,250 and above, to contribute to the new SSS Provident Fund, called Workers Investment and Savings Program (WISP).
It added that contributions to WISP are integrated into the contributions of the regular SSS program and will also be shared proportionately between the employer and the employee.
WISP, which is also provided for under the Social Security Act of 2018, is a compulsory, government-managed individual retirement savings scheme for SSS members. It is a defined-contribution plan that allows employers and employees to contribute and invest over time to save more for retirement.
SSS said WISP benefits are paid out in the form of lump sum or pension payments for retirement, total disability and death survivorship, are in addition to the benefits under the regular SSS program.
It said the employers shall deduct contributions from employees' salaries, adding it is the employers’ legal obligation to pay the proportionate share of contributions (both in the regular SSS Program and WISP), including Employees' Compensation, and remit the correct amount to the SSS within the prescribed schedule of payments.
The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation is also eyeing to raise contribution of its members, but President Rodrigo Duterte temporarily suspended this following strong public criticisms from workers affected by the pandemic. However, despite Duterte's order, the agency's regional office in Zamboanga continue on with the hike in contributions. (Mindanao Examiner)
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