SSS covers more informal sector groups in Western Visayas


Nearly 11,000 members of 109 informal sector groups (ISGs) and associations in Western Visayas will now have social security coverage under the Social Security System's (SSS) AlkanSSSya program.

SSS Senior Vice President for Visayas and Mindanao Operations Group Eddie A. Jara disclosed that the increasing number of ISGs availing the AlkanSSSya reflects its appeal to the needs of informal sector workers such as affordability and convenience, noting that many among them have busy work schedules and tight budgets.
Jara noted that the ISGs enrolled in AlkanSSSya are composed of farmers; fisherfolks; ambulant vendors; tricycle drivers; caddies and umbrella girls; inmates; and members of multi-purpose cooperatives, pumpboat associations, barangay community groups, livelihood associations, and rural women associations.
He explained that large metal boxes with secure individual mini-compartments are installed in accessible locations to store daily AlkanSSSya savings of members. The savings are accounted for and picked up by an SSS collecting agent at the end of every month.
According to Jara, the AlkanSSSya program which enables informal sector workers to save part of their daily income for monthly contributions has consistently complemented payments from self-employed and voluntary members in Western Visayas, which climbed 7.2 percent from P332.95 million in January to April of 2014 to P357.01 million in January to April of 2015.
As of April 2015, informal workers, who are covered as self-employed members, paid more than P14 million in contributions.
Meanwhile, SSS also continues to cater the job order (JO) and contractual workers in state-run institutions who are excluded from the mandatory coverage of the Government Service Insurance System.
Under the e-AlkanSSSya, government offices automatically deduct the contributions of job order and contractual workers from their salaries and wages, which the government offices will then remit to the SSS.
Jara said that SSS has recently inked a Memoranda of Agreement with 11 local government units and Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) Area 6 to collect and remit the monthly contributions and loan amortizations of its workers. They will facilitate the collection through payroll deduction and remittance of the monthly contributions to SSS.
As of April 2015, 898 job order and contractual workers from 11 local government units and CAAP Area 6 are enrolled in the e-AlkanSSSya scheme. A total of P389,320 contributions were collected.
Jara said the minimum monthly contribution under the program is P330 or based on the actual monthly income compensation that the employees receive from the state institutions but not exceeding the maximum salary credit under the contribution schedule of the SSS.
“More agreements with local government units, government agencies and ISGs are in development to cover more job orders, contract and informal workers, extending our services across every economically vulnerable sector of the society,” Jara added.
SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Emilio de Quiros, Jr. will visit areas in Visayas in the coming days. During the regional visit, de Quiros will discuss updates on SSS products and services.

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