MANILA – The state-run Social Security System on Thursday urged individuals and groups to subsidize the monthly contributions of members from the informal sector, job order workers and land-based overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
In a statement, SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Regino said the agency aims to transform social security coverage in the country through the Contribution Subsidy Provider Program (CSPP).
The CSPP is an out-of-the-box approach in helping members who are having a hard time paying their social security contributions.
Regino said a contribution subsidy provider would cover the contributions of the self-employed, the land-based OFWs, or voluntary members under the program.
“A contribution subsidy provider could be a private or government individual or group willing to subsidize the SSS contributions of identified members,” he said.
The SSS would partner with potential contribution subsidy providers who are “generous enough to shoulder the contribution payments of chosen SSS members for at least six months”.
Through an online Certification with Undertaking or a Memorandum of Agreement, they could become a coverage and collection partner of the agency and pay the contribution subsidies in any SSS branch with tellering facilities or through an SSS-accredited collection partner.
“We want to provide SSS coverage to workers in the informal sector and land-based OFWs. These workers have the lowest social security coverage in our workforce, and they are among the most vulnerable sector in times of contingencies,” Regino said.
He added that intermittent income and varied work arrangements make it difficult for them to continue paying their monthly contributions.
Since job order workers are not covered by the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), government agencies can subsidize the monthly contributions for them.
Private institutions or multinational companies can shoulder the monthly contributions of self-employed informal sector workers or land-based OFWs who lost their jobs due to the pandemic, as part of their corporate social responsibility.
“Subsidizing their SSS contributions is the greatest gift that we can give to a fellow Filipino. It will allow them to gain access to social security benefits which will serve as a cushion that they can rely on in times of emergencies and various contingencies,” Regino said. (PNA)
