SSS trims 2017 expenses by P1 B

The Social Security System (SSS) has slashed its operating expenses by P1 billion this year as part of efforts to improve its financial position, its chairman said.

Social Security Commission (SSC) chairperson Amado Valdez said the SSC board approved P12.21 billion for operating expenses out of the proposed P13.22 billion.

This represents 54 percent of the limits set on the SSS charter which is 5.7 percent of total revenue.

With the reduction in operating expenses, Valdez expects SSS expects to improve its profitability.

“SSS has seen improvement in its profitability as a result of cost-efficiency measures that greatly reduced expenditures from 2010 to 2016. With the P1billion budget cut, we can maintain SSS expenses at levels that will help shore up the agency’s profits for 2017,” Valdez said.

Last year, total expenses of SSS reached P10 billion, comprising payments made for the salaries, wages and bonuses of employees, and for maintenance of branches, rent and other operating costs.

At present, the state pension fund has 6,000 employees deployed across its 296 branches nationwide and abroad to service a membership base of over 34 million, of which two million are receiving pensions.

SSS president and chief executive officer Emmanuel Dooc, for his part, said SSS would continue to implement prudent allocation of SSS funds for expenditure.

“With close supervision by the SSC and Governance Commission for GOCCs, the pension fund is kept afloat amid the low-growth environment of the market through management activities that conscientiously comply with the discharge of our fiduciary responsibilities,” Dooc said.

The state pension fund’s operating costs have remained below the limits set by its charter or at an average ratio of 59 percent over the past seven years. This represents 5.9 percent of total revenue, Dooc said.

Despite an annual average increase of eight percent in transaction volume, SSS has been able to manage its costs with its operating costs growing by only six percent per year.

“This continued prudence was achieved amid branch expansion activities and systemwide upgrades that paved the way for growth in membership and collections across the region,” Dooc said.