Digitalization cuts SSS operating cost (Sabong News)

The digitalization program of the Social Security System (SSS) has reduced the pension fund’s operating expense, the Department of Finance (DOF) said. In a statement released by the DOF, the department reported that SSS’ operating expenses amounted to P4 for every P100 of benefits paid in 2021, this is lower by almost half from the P7.9 the pension fund spent in 2015 for the same activity. SSS said if loan disbursements made by the fund are included in the computation, it only spent P3.5 for every 100 benefits paid plus loans released in 2021. As a share of the pension fund’s revenues, its operating expenses also went down from 5.5 percent in 2015 to 3.5 percent in 2021, SSS President and Chief Operating Officer Aurora Ignacio said a report to Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III. Dominguez had ordered the SSS in 2019 to trim its operating expenses as a share of benefit payments, which was at 5.1 percent at that time, to around three percent to ensure that member contributions to the pension fund are efficiently spent and maximized for their benefit. “Our digitalization initiatives which we pursued upon the instructions of the Secretary way before the pandemic, played a big part in pursuing our goal of reducing our operating expenses as a share of benefit payments,” Ignacio said. Dominguez thanked the SSS for its “good performance and good run” under Ignacio’s leadership. Ignacio, in turn, said that “SSS did very well in the last three years” with Dominguez’s guidance, “despite the challenges of the pandemic, and despite all the challenges that we had.” She said that for 2022, the SSS is targeting to further cut its operating expenses to P3.9 for every 100 benefits paid. The SSS invested P807 million for capital outlay from 2019 to 2021 to improve its information technology (IT) capabilities and prepare for the digital transformation of the pension fund, Ignacio said. She said the SSS also entered into a memorandum of agreement (MOA) last year with various government institutions to procure a Shared Cyberdefense Solution as an additional layer of protection for the SSS against cyber hacking and other threats. Last year, the SSS fully transitioned to processing online the various benefits claimed by its members, which include maternity, sickness, unemployment insurance, funeral, and retirement benefits. Salary and calamity loan applications are now filed, processed and released 100-percent online. Ignacio said the SSS also continues to provide its members with safe and convenient online access to their SSS records and transactions via the SSS Mobile app and web-based platforms under its ExpreSSS campaign. From 7.4 million in 2020, the downloads of the SSS Mobile app grew to 12.02 million in 2021.