The Social Security System (SSS) yesterday issued notices of violation against 1,200 delinquent employers nationwide.
The pension fund yesterday urged these employers to settle their contribution delinquencies, amounting to over P335 million and affecting the social security coverage of nearly 19,000 employees.
Rolando Macasaet, SSS president and chief executive officer, issued a stern warning to delinquent employers after a simultaneous Run After Contribution Evaders or RACE operation was held in Quezon City, noting that SSS will not hesitate to file charges against them.
Voltaire Agas, SSS executive vice president, said under the law, employers who fail to register their employees or have not deducted and remitted their contributions to SSS will be penalized with a fine of P5,000 to P20,000 and face imprisonment ranging from six years and one day to 12 years.
“Employers who received the violation notices are given 15 days to coordinate with their respective servicing SSS Branch Office and settle their contribution delinquencies, and if they fail to act on it, SSS will take legal action against them,” Agas said.
Macasaet thus urged Filipino workers to be vigilant and regularly check if their contribution records are updated.
“Our members can now easily check if their SSS contribution record is updated using the My.SSS Portal, which they can access through their smartphones. If they find out that their employers are not remitting their contributions, we advise them to report it immediately to our SSS Branch Office to investigate,” Macasaet said.
If contribution records are not updated, they will not be entitled to claim SSS benefits or apply for loan programs.
“For example, an SSS member was hospitalized for ten days due to an illness. Suppose their employer is not remitting the SSS contributions. In that case, they will be unqualified to receive sickness benefits from SSS because one of the requirements of the said benefit is to have recency in contributions,” Macasaet added.
