TIM eMagazine Volume 2 Issue 9 | Page 32

OFW

S tate-run Social Security System ( SSS ) ranked as one of the most trusted government agencies in the country and has the fastest turnaround time in resolving Hotline 8888 cases .

Filipinos gave a 94 percent trust rating to the SSS based on the 2017 and fifth Philippine Trust Index ( PTI ), a survey conducted by the communications agency EON Group .
Social Security Commission ( SSC ) Chairman Amado D . Valdez welcomed the results of the survey .
“ We thank the public for their trust . Rest assured that we strive everyday to still give the best level of service that comparable not only in the Philippines but in South East Asia . The employers and employees are our partners in forming the people ’ s capital which we will use for direct investments . This way , our members will see the value of their money and hard work not only thru the development of our country ,” Valdez said .
The SSS , with 94 percent trust rating , ranked next to Philhealth with a 95 percent trust rating . Also in the top five were the Department of Education ( 93 percent ), Department of Social Welfare and Development ( 88 percent ), and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority ( 91 percent ).
“ We are very glad with the results of the survey conducted by EON Group . To know that we are one of the highly-trusted government agencies is a bonus for our daily task of ensuring quality service to our dear members ,” SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel F . Dooc said .
The 2017 PTI edition dubbed as “ The Philippine Paradox : Growing

SSS to implement real-time posting of contribution payments

S ocial Security System ( SSS ) is set to implement the electronic Collection System ( e-CS ) to enable the real-time posting of contribution payments from SSS branch tellering facilities and other payment channels by first quarter of next year .

SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel F . Dooc said that real-time posting of contributions will allow faster processing of claims to help members and their beneficiaries receive their benefits and loan proceeds on time .
All SSS benefits and loans are based on contributions of members and their employers . Thus , it is important that these payments are recorded correctly and promptly . Otherwise , they may not immediately qualify for certain benefits and loans .
“ For instance , to avail of a sickness benefit , a member must have at least three posted contributions in the last 12 months immediately before his semester of sickness or injury . If any of his required contributions is not posted , he cannot apply yet for a sickness benefit ,” explained Dooc .
Dooc said that the pilot phase of the project will aim for near real-time processing of contribution payments from SSS branch tellering facilities within this year . This means that contributions will be posted within 24 hours from the time of payment . The pension fund has 279 branches nationwide , 96 of which accepts payments . It also has 81 accredited partner-banks and 10 nonbank collection partners . As of August 2017 , the SSS collected P106 billion in contributions from its various payment facilities .
“ About 66 percent of our contribution collections are remitted through other payment channels aside from our tellering facilities , so we will make sure that our collection partners are in sync with our system to implement real-time posting of contributions ,” Dooc said .
More than 34 percent of the remittances came from SSS branches amounting to P 36 billion . About 38 percent or P39.8 billion are paid through our ePayment

SSS obtains 94 percent trust rating , tops 8888 resolution rate

Trust in a Time of Growing Uncertainty ” covered 30 government agencies and was conducted from March to April 2017 with 1,200 respondents aged 18 and above .
Meanwhile , SSS has set another record as the pension fund achieved the fastest turnaround time ( TAT ) of four days in resolution of complaints transmitted through Citizen Hotline 8888 , based on the first semester report of the Civil Service Commission ( CSC ).
Dooc said that the pension fund still managed to solve the cases immediately despite of the huge bulk of reports endorsed by CSC .
“ With the growing number of SSS members , the management is also cognizant of the public ’ s clamor for faster and more efficient delivery of services . As one of the partner-agencies of CSC , it is our responsibility to resolve these cases so that we can accommodate more members who need our assistance ,” Dooc said . sss . gov . ph
partners like the Electronic Data Interchange facilities , overseas collection partners , Bayad Center , SM Payment Centers , and Auto-debit Arrangement program partners .
The Social Security Commission , the policy-making body of the pension fund , approved the policy amendments , system and procedural enhancements , and resource requirements for the implementation of the e-CS to support continuous process improvements at the SSS .
“ The Commission ’ s priority is to enhance the contribution collection process . Not only will it improve the turn-around time for processing benefits , but it will also provide a detailed , accurate , and on-time data on our contribution collection efficiency ,” said SSC Chairman Amado Valdez .
Valdez noted that there has been a significant increase in number of unposted member loan collections from P1.135 billion in 2016 to P817 million as of March 31 , 2017 . “ Although we have managed to improve posting of member loan payments , we are still not happy with it so we are pushing for process enhancements like real-time posting ,” he added .
Among the requirements for this process enhancement is for all employers and individual members , namely self-employed , voluntary and OFW members to register in the My . SSS facility at the SSS website .
The SSS shall generate the initial electronic Contribution Collection List ( e- CL ) for all regular and household employers and Statement of Account ( SOA ) for individual members .
“ By logging in to their My . SSS account , employers will have access to their e-CLs , and SOAs for individual members . The good thing about this facility is that they can review and edit their e-CL and SOA details should there be any changes ," Dooc explained .
In the case of employers , they can add newly hired employees and indicate separated employees . For individual members , they can change the applicable period if they want to make advance payments for a year , and change the amount of contribution if their monthly earnings have increased or decreased .
Upon validation and confirmation of the e-CL or SOA , the e-CS shall automatically generate a Payment Reference Number ( PRN ) that will be used mandatorily by the employer or member in paying SSS contributions at any accredited payment facility .
All bank and non-bank collection partners are required to shift to the e-CS using PRN as basis for payment acceptance .
“ All SSS branch tellering facilities and non-bank payment partners will implement real-time posting of SSS contribution payments starting January 16 , 2018 . All commercial and universal banks are required to convert their current manual processing of SSS contribution collections and report submission into the e-CS with PRN by February 4 , 2018 , and March 4 , 2018 for all other banks ,” Dooc concluded . sss . gov . ph

32