SSS ORDERS 1,200 FIRMS TO REMIT P 335-M WORKERS’ CONTRIBUTIONS

The Social Security System (SSS) has issued violation notices to more than 1,200 delinquent employers for failing to remit their workers’ contributions to the pension fund.

In a recent statement, the SSS called on these firms to settle their contribution delinquencies amounting to more than P335 million, which it said was affecting the social security coverage of nearly 19,000 employees.

The issuance of notices is part of the agency’s Run After Contribution Evaders (RACE) program, which brought down uncollected SSS contributions by 39 percent year-on-year to P56 billion in 2023.

The SSS said that under the law, employers who fail to register their employees or have not deducted and remitted their contributions to the pension fund would be fined from P5,000 up to P20,000 and face imprisonment ranging from six years and one day to 12 years.

“Our members can now easily check if their SSS contribution record is updated using the My.SSS Portal, which they can access through their smartphones,” SSS president and CEO Rolando Lacasaet said.

”If they find out that their employers are not remitting their contributions, we advise them to report it immediately to our SSS Branch Office to investigate,” he added.

The pension fund for private sector workers is aspiring for a profit of “over P100 billion” this year which, if realized, would exceed the P83 billion net income it recorded last year.

The SSS set that profit goal on expectations of bigger contributions from its 42 million members and higher returns from its investments in the stock market.

Last month, Macasaet said the SSS had filed cases in court against 2,422 errant employers, most of who opted to settle their delinquencies either through full payment or via installment schemes. The agency was able to collect P1.37 billion in 2023, up from P1.15 billion in 2022.