Pensioners in the Philippines are eagerly monitoring the development related to the increase in their Social Security System (SSS) pension after the House of Representatives approved a committee report on a bill increasing the pension by P2,000 (USD41) per month.
The next move will be for the plenary to deliberate on the matter, with hopes that the increase will be implemented in time for Christmas. The report contained House Bill No. 18 or “An act mandating a two thousand peso across-the-board increase in the monthly pension with corresponding adjustment of the minimum monthly pension under the SSS.”
The bill was co-authored by at least 70 congressmen and was unanimously approved even as the SSS had appealed for the committee to consider adopting a resolution instead of a bill.
The SSS had offered to increase the pension by P1,000 but the House of Representatives panel rejected it, sticking to the commitment to grant P2,000 increase for retired SSS members.
Leonito Gako, 66, said a P2,000 increase in his P1,200 monthly pension will greatly help him with his maintenance drugs and other personal needs. Gako hoped that the increase will be implemented while he is still alive.
“I think it is about time that the pension will be increased. We have been clamoring for it because the current monthly pension is just not enough,” he said.
The proposed amendment provides that the minimum monthly pension shall be P3,200 for members with at least 10 credited years of service and P4,400 for those with 20 credited years of service.
Concerns about the health of the SSS, however, surfaced, with some analysts saying raising the pension by P2,000 could mean financial trouble for the SSS. – BusinessNewsAsia.com