SSS offers payment option
The Social Security System is offering an additional payment scheme for qualified delinquent employers who are having a hard time paying their obligations to the fund.
SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel Dooc said delinquent employers who have paid their principal obligations shall be entitled to a one-year period within which they can defer the payment of the penalty either in full or through installment based on the assigned monthly installment payment plan.
Dooc said the move will provide more lenient ways employers can pay their obligations to SSS.
To qualify for the additional settlement option, a delinquent employer must have an outstanding obligation of at least P100,000 exclusive of penalty, with or without pending cases before the Prosecutor's Office, courts, and Social Security Commission, and with or without subsisting approved settlement scheme.
Dooc said the additional payment option specifically caters to delinquent employers currently experiencing financial difficulties due to income losses, mismanagement, or those affected by natural and man-made disasters.
Under the SSS Circular No. 2018-008, employers who paid their principal contributions in full or within 90 days from the approval of the application shall have a year to defer the payment of their accrued penalties.
Dooc said if the employers failed to settle the principal amount within the 90-day period, a threepercent per month penalty shall be imposed on the balance until the principal contribution is fully paid.
"That's why it is crucial for employers to strictly follow the additional guidelines to avoid penalty accruals,” Dooc said.
After paying the principal delinquency, employers can settle the total penalty delinquency either in full or on a staggered basis in accordance with the provisions of Circular No. 2011-002 or the Revised Guidelines in the Installment Payment Scheme for Employers.
Dooc added that a legal interest of six percent per annum shall be imposed on the substituting penalty delinquency upon payment either in full or on installment after the one-year deferment period.