The Social Security System (SSS) has disbursed a total of P2.49 trillion in benefits through the 45 million claims it has received since September 1957 up to August 2022.
The private sector pension fund made this disclosure in a statement as it reached its 65th year of service to the working Filipinos.
Long-term benefits accounted for almost 90 percent of the said disbursements, with retirement benefit at nearly P1.33 trillion, death benefit at P792.92 billion and disability benefit at P119.18 billion for a total of around P2.24 trillion.
Short-term benefits made up the remaining 10 percent with maternity benefit at P120.91 billion, funeral benefit at P68.17 billion, sickness benefit at P56.92 billion, unemployment benefit at P3.69 billion and employees’ compensation medical or rehab services at P1.77 billion for a total of about P251.47 billion.
Michael Regino, SSS president and chief executive officer, said if the total amount of SSS benefit disbursements for that period is adjusted for inflation, it would amount to P3.77 trillion with long-term benefits at P3.33 trillion and short-term benefits at P433.25 billion.
“From 1957 up to 2021, we recorded annual increases in the amount of benefit disbursements, except only for 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our P223.98 billion benefit disbursements for 2021 are an all-time high,” Regino said.
“This year, however, we are on track to exceed this amount as for the first eight months of 2022, we have already disbursed P165.04 billion benefits, which is 7.1 percent more than the P154.05 billion disbursed for the same period last year,” he added.
The constant growth in SSS’ benefit disbursements can be attributed mainly to the gradual addition of benefits, increase in the number of its members and expansion of membership coverage, the pension fund said.
