SSS 16-Hour Call Center

MANILA, Philippines --- The Social Security System (SSS) has opened a 16-hour call center where members can inquire about their loans, contributions, benefits and other similar concerns beyond working hours on weekdays.

SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Emilio de Quiros Jr. said that the agency’s service personnel may now respond to inquiries through SSS hotline numbers 920-6446 to 55, Mondays to Fridays, from 7 a.m. until 11 p.m.

“Employees manning the call center are trained to address a wide range of SSS inquiries. With a 16-hour window for calls, we can entertain more phone queries so more members can avoid problems such as having incomplete requirements or not knowing the location of their covering branch when filing loan and benefit applications," de Quiros said.

The 16-hour SSS call center is the newest among the agency’s line-up of services for members’ queries.

Inquiry facilities that provide round-the-clock services to members include the SSS website (www.sss.gov.ph), Text-SSS and the Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS).

De Quiros said over 164,000 members and employers have enrolled at the SSS website during the first quarter of 2012, which reflected a jump of 84 percent from only 89,000 new web registrants for the same period last year.

"The number of transactions coursed through the SSS website reached more than 129,000 in the first three months of this year. The most popular website transactions are submission of employers’ reports of newly-hired workers and online applications for salary loans," de Quiros said.

Text-SSS, an inquiry facility that enables members to receive SSS membership data through their mobile phones, recorded nearly 265,000 transactions during the first quarter of 2012, up from only 96,600 for the same period last year.

De Quiros said the expansion of Text-SSS services to cover inquiries on claim status, branch location and requirements for loans, benefits and registration helped boost the number of transactions and registered users.

About 220,000 members have registered in Text-SSS as of May 2012.

"We plan to extend call center hours to provide 24/7 service to members, especially for overseas Filipino workers who will then be able to call up SSS despite the difference in time zones. In the meantime, we offer members residing in the country our IVRS facility for simple phone inquiries," de Quiros added.

source: mb.com.ph

SSS reminder: Avail of loan amnesty before September 30

Social Security System President and Chief Executive Officer Emilio De Quiros on Monday reminded in a statement Western Visayas SSS members with delinquent loans that they have until September 30, 2012 in which to avail of a loan amnesty which offers delinquent borrowers an opportunity to settle their overdue loans at 50 to 100 percent discounted penalties called the Loan Penalty Condonation Program, as the SSS has disbursed a total of P132.89 million in salary loans to nearly 10,200 members in Western Visayas during the first quarter of this year, five percent more than the amount of loans given during the same period in 2011.

"Over a thousand members in Western Visayas with a combined loan delinquency of about P17 million have applied for the condonation program so far. We hope other borrowers will file their applications before the program ends on September 30 this year," said De Quiros.

Under the condonation program, which also covers all delinquent SSS borrowers nationwide and delinquent borrowers whose employers failed to remit their loan payments to the SSS, members have the option to pay in full or settle in monthly installments of up to 36 months.

Settled loans ensures members’ entitlement to the full amount of SSS benefits in the future should they need it.

The Loan Penalty Condonation Program was launched last April 2, 2012.

According to the SSS, the agency has 2.15 million members in its Western Visayas Division, with SSS branches in the cities of Bacolod, Bago, Bais, Dumaguete, Kabankalan, Sagay, San Carlos, Victorias, Iloilo and Roxas and in the towns of Kalibo (Aklan) and San Jose (Antique). — DVM, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

SSS Eyes More OFW Deals

MANILA, Philippines — The Social Security System (SSS) is set to enter into bilateral agreements within the year with three countries in an effort to protect the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) even after the expiration of their contracts.

SSS Senior Vice President Judy Frances A. See said in an interview they are set to start negotiation with Japan, while it is already about to sign an agreement with Portugal. SSS has also ongoing negotiation with Denmark.

“We’re going to negotiate with Japan by the second semester, so we’re expecting a visit from them in the second half,” See said.

The deal with Japan should benefit more OFWs as the increase in the entry of nurses in Japan is part of the Philippines Japan Economic Partnership Agreement entered by both countries in 2006.

“There is also a clamor from our Filipino community in Denmark because without the agreement, the benefits will not be exportable to that country. If we have an agreement, and if they decide to come home, they will have a fallback,” See said.

Foreign countries are traditionally hesitant about entering into this agreement since bilaterals benefit OFWs more than their foreign nationals considering they usually have fewer nationals in the Philippines. But the government is expecting positive responses for this move since OFWs legitimately contribute to the social security system of these countries along with the payments of their employers.

Among countries, SSS has difficulty seeking negotiations with Middle East countries where there are more than one million OFWs.

To date, SSS has existing bilateral agreements with the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, the independent province of Quebec, and Switzerland.

The bilateral agreements should have four provisions. These are equality of treatment — whatever treatment to other foreign workers in a country should be accorded to OFWs; export of benefits — a benefit of a Filipino OFW should be remitted to the Philippines once his contract expires; totalization of benefit or a benefit should be granted to an OFW pro rata for the period of time for which he has rendered service even if he has not completed a pre-agreed period of entitlement; and mutual administrative assistance.

Susie Bugante, SSS vice president, said the pension fund has a plan to introduce a new program for returning OFWs particularly to finance livelihood or entrepreneurial program.

“DOLE (Department of Labor and Employment) has brought up a proposal to finance a program for OFWs like the Sulong program that we have had even before,” said Bugante. “We will have more returning OFWs who are bringing home a set of skills that they have used abroad, and we have to support them.”

Sulong or the SME (Small and Medium Enterprise) Unified Lending Opportunities for National Growth is a financing program of SSS and other government financial institutions for SMEs.

SSS has started promoting membership to OFWs specially those that are just under contract as it considers them the most vulnerable to financial difficulties compared to immigrants.

Recently, SSS awarded raffle prizes to nine OFWs as part of its promotion to get more members. Three prizes were allocated for those working in the Asia Pacific, three for the Middle East, and three for the rest of the world.

SSS is targeting a total OFW membership to 500,000 by end this year from the 200,000 at the start of the year.

source: mb.com.ph