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THE
Social Security System (SSS), in a bid to explain the
lateness of its records, said Thursday this was due to
only a handful of companies using its electronic filing
system.
There
had been complaints about the lateness of the postings
of contributions, resulting in undue delay in approval
of loans to members and disbursement of benefits, in
addition to its loss of many members’ records—allegedly
through errors when they were being computerized—but
some of which have never been resolved.
The
findings of a National Competitiveness Council study
shows that manual posting takes up to two months before
a member’s profile is updated.
The SSS
said the lack of use of its SSSNet system persists
despite its campaign to compel employers to automate the
submissions of their reports. It reported that less than
10 percent of the 800,000 companies that must collect
and submit employee contributions are using the system.
The
pension fund did not explain why there is a lack of use
of its system; and if they did know why, whether they
have tried to address the reasons for the seeming
reluctance of companies to use it.
In a
report, the SSS said an average of 70,180 companies,
representing about 4 million employees all over the
country, were using the SSS electronic technology for
the entire 2007 despite its campaign since last year to
compel employers to automate submissions.
The SSS
offers employers two electronic modes for sending
contribution reports. One is through its R-3 diskette
program, where companies encode their collection lists
in a diskette and submit this with the payment receipts;
the other is the SSSNet program, which uses the Internet
for a much faster way to update files.
Contributions may be posted within five days under the
R-3 diskette program, and two days under the SSSNet
facility. Manual submissions of R-3 forms, which should
be sent on a quarterly basis, can be updated between one
to two months.
“A
monthly average of 2,120 employers, ranging from 1,543
to 2,540, availed themselves of the SSSNet facility,
which allowed computerized transmission of collection
reports through the Internet,” said the report.
“Paper-based reports, which we receive only at the end
of the quarter, take time to encode, especially if there
are errors such as inaccurate social security numbers or
misspelled names of employees,” said chief executive
officer Corazon de la Paz.
Last
year, it reported that delinquent employers have paid a
total of P609 million in overdue contribution and loan
payments after the pension fund took legal action.
Under
the law, employers who fail to remit payments could be
fined between P5,000 and P20,000 and jailed from 6 to 12
years.
Deadline
for SSS payments falls on the 10th day of the following
month, and late payments have monthly penalties of 3
percent for contributions and one percent for loans. |
