CEBU CITY – The Philippine Social Security System (SSS) is contemplating an increase in present maximum income ceiling contributions of P15,000, a move foreseen to benefit members when they retire.

SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Romulo Neri shared his views on the matter during Tuesday’s first Kapihan sa SSS in Cebu.

Neri was in Cebu for the inauguration of the SSS Cebu’s new downtown building in Osmeña Blvd. The three-story glass-and-aluminum-clad guitar-inspired building is where the SSS Cebu regional office used to stand before it was  torn down in the 1990s due to safety concerns.

Neri said while the agency’s funds are viable for the next 35 years, as early as now, SSS has to look into long-term measures that will increase retirement benefits of present and future members.

“Right now, we have the luxury of time but it would be better to anticipate future needs,” he said, adding that this proposal is something he would recommend to his next successor considering that having a bill approved in Congress is taxing.

At present, the maximum income ceiling for contributions is P15,000. This means that the SSS fund’s contribution rate of 10.4 percent can be applied only up to a maximum of P15,000 of a private sector’s monthly salary.

SSS members, therefore, can pay only up to P1,560 per month in SSS contribution, which is 10.4 percent of the P15,000 ceiling.

“When you retire 20 years from now, P15,000 will be like nothing,” Neri said. “Raising the ceiling will provide a margin that will cover for inflationary effects.

He added that the present contribution rate is still considered as among the lowest in the world, since other countries set contribution rates at 20 to 30 percent.

Neri assured contributors that the SSS fund will continue to be managed prudently, with investments directed only at proper and conservative vehicles.

He also said that through legislation, he is looking at putting in cross-subsidy features for SSS.

The cross-subsidy feature, he said, involves the lower-income or poor contributors being subsidized by higher-income members.