SSS NET PROFIT DOWN 10% TO P27.4B IN FIRST 9 MONTHS

The end-September net profit of state-run Social Security System (SSS) declined by a tenth to P27.4 billion as the pension fund had to shell out a much higher amount for retirement benefits than a year ago to pay those affected by a data glitch on payment records in the late 1980s.

SSS documents showed that the net profit at the end of the nine months dropped from P30.7 billion last year as ninemonth expenditures jumped to P104.5 billion compared with the previous year’s P89.8 billion.

In particular, retirement benefit payments rose to P58.2 billion from P46.7 billion a year ago.

Unrecorded distributions

To recall, the SSS earlier found out that some members’ contributions between 1985 and 1989 had not been remitted to them as pensioners.

“It took us one year to encode [those unrecorded contributions]. In June, we already recomputed all the pensions of all the pensioners and we came up with the numbers and we adjusted the pensions,” former SSS president and chief executive Emilio S. de Quiros had said.

De Quiros, who was re- placed by former Insurance Commioner Emmanuel F. Dooc this month, had said that the immediate adjustment in pensions cost the SSS P7 billion last June on top of another P80 million monthly in additional expenses moving forward.

Total paid benefits

As such, the total amount of benefits paid from January to September—including for death, disability, funeral grant, maternity, medical services, rehabilitation services and sickness—reached P98.1 billion, up from P83.7 billion a year ago. Operating expenses for personnel services as well as maintenance also increased to P6.5 billion from P6.1 billion last year.

End-September revenues, meanwhile, grew to P131.9 billion from P120.4 billion in the first nine months of last year.

Members’ contribution totaled P107.4 billion, while investment and other income amounted P24.6 billion during the January to September period.

As of September, the SSS’s assets stood at P487.6 billion; liabilities, P17.8 billion; and reserves, P469.7 billion.