P2K across-the-board increase for SSS pensioners sought

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Teofisto Guingona III is pushing for a P 2,000 across-the-board increase in monthly Social Security System pension to make the SSS pension more responsive to the current economic realities.

“The current pension system is insufficient to address the needs of our SSS pensioners due to the inflationary costs of basic goods,” Guingona said as he filed Senate Bill No. 2888, which seeks to amend Sec. 12 of the Social Security Act of 1997.

The measure proposes a monthly pension of at least P4,400 for members with 20 years of credited service. 

It also seeks to raise the present monthly pension of P1,200 to P3,200 for those with at least 10 years of credited service.

Guingona is hopeful that the bill raising the monthly pension of SSS retirees would be passed into law since a similar measure had already passed the Lower House on third reading.

With the proposed P2,000 across-the-board increase, the SSS management said  based on a study of its actuary, the life of the pension fund would be shortened by 13 years from 2042 to 2029.