The Social Security System (SSS) has signed nine more cooperatives as collecting agents for the contributions of its members, bringing in a total of 90,377 new members of the SSS and an estimated additional P14.4 million in annual contributions.
SSS President and CEO Emilio de Quiros said the nine newly accredited cooperatives have also committed to enroll an additional 7,050 new members to the SSS each year.
The nine cooperatives accredited as collection agents are Santa Cruz Savings and Development Cooperative and Sacred Heart Savings Cooperative in Ilocos Sur; Pintuyan National Vocational School Multipurpose Cooperative in Southern Leyte; Pinoy Lingap Damayan Credit Cooperative in Catanduanes; Tubungan Employees Development Cooperative in Iloilo; Alicia Neighborhood Multipurpose Cooperative in Zamboanga-Sibugay; Gata Daku Multipurpose Cooperative in Misamis Oriental; Guadalupe Community Multipurpose Cooperative in Cebu; and Alalay sa Kaunlaran Inc. Multipurpose Cooperative in Nueva Ecija.
The accreditation of these cooperatives will provide members in their respective areas of jurisdiction a more convenient way of transacting with the SSS, from the payment and remittance of their contributions to the processing of the claims of SSS members.
The SSS, through account officers of concerned branches, will tightly monitor the performance of its accredited cooperatives to make sure that the contributions of its members are properly remitted to the SSS. SSS provides training to personnel of the accredited cooperative in the procedures in collection of contributions, receiving and screening of applications for registration, loans and funeral claims.
A collecting partner agent of the SSS must be duly registered with the appropriate regulatory body or government agency, and must be in existence for at least three years immediately preceding the date of filing of application for accreditation. A cooperative must be a registered employer with the SSS and regularly paying contributions for its employees. Its business operation must pass the financial criteria set by the SSS. SSS also requires that the cooperative has regular members.
The SSS has already accredited a total of 21 cooperatives, associations and micro financiers that act as partners in collection, as well as non-collection services since December 2012.