MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court (SC) has upheld the 0.6-percent hike in premium contributions of Social Security System (SSS) members as implemented by the government in 2014. 262-2013, that increased the monthly SSS contributions of workers from 10.4 percent to 11 percent. The Court further ruled that the measure was a valid exercise of police power necessary to observe the constitutional mandate of promoting social justice under the SSS law. In its earlier answer, the SSS told the Court that the premium hike was the best option to reduce the pension fund’s unfunded liabilities amounting to about P1.1 trillion in 2013. The increase reportedly expanded the SSS fund’s asset base by P294 billion.

Source: Philippine Star July 22, 2019 16:00 UTC