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Senator Files Bill for Pension Benefits Increase
Sun Star
September 13, 2004
SENATOR Manuel Villar Jr. filed Senate Bill No. 669 that seeks to increase the pension benefits of Social Security System members.
Villar, chairman of the Senate committee on finance, made the proposal following news reports that the SSS will be increasing members' monthly contribution.
He said members who have contributed longer to the SSS should receive higher pension benefits.
"With the continued increase in the prices of basic commodities and services, the pension benefits may no longer be realistic," he said.
"The amount of money that SSS members receive as their pension benefits should be sufficient to help them."
Villar recently sought a Senate inquiry to determine if the proposed increase in SSS monthly contribution is reasonable and likewise check if the agency has been doing good housekeeping over the years.
In Senate Resolution 75, he expressed concern that an increase in monthly contribution will hit hard salary workers who will have to shoulder the added "cut" in their take home pay.
Villar, president of the Nacionalista Party, said SSS officials should address the problem of collection inefficiency before deciding to hike premiums.
He also said there is a need to examine and lower the agency's expenditures rate of 40 percent, which is higher than the agency's expenditures, including the big salaries and benefits of its top officials.
"SSS officials must be able to explain how they spend their money. Increasing expenditures that are not balanced with the SSS income may be the primary reason why SSS is losing money," he said.
"It is but just and equitable that this lapse in the should be corrected. Members who have contributed longer to the SSS should receive higher pension benefits," he added.
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