SSS and BI Partnership Provides Social Security Coverage to Government Workers

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) and Social Security System (SSS) recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on March 9, 2023, at the BI headquarters in Intramuros, Manila. The agreement seeks to provide social security coverage to job order and contract of service workers in the government, benefiting at least 800 workers in the immigration regulatory body.

Under the MOA, BI’s job order and contract of service workers will be classified as self-employed members of SSS and will receive coverage under the KaSSSama sa Coverage Program. Additionally, BI will serve as a Coverage and Collection Partner of SSS, collecting and remitting monthly contributions through a salary-deduction scheme.

SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Rolando Ledesma Macasaet explained that although job order and contract of service workers in government agencies work in government offices, they are considered private self-employed members and are not covered by the Government Service Insurance System. As self-employed members of SSS, they will be entitled to receive social security benefits such as sickness, maternity, disability, retirement, funeral and death benefits, as well as additional coverage from the Employees’ Compensation Program (ECP) for work-related contingencies. They may also apply for various member loans offered by SSS, such as salary and calamity loans.

Commissioner Norman G. Tansingco of BI expressed his gratitude to SSS for providing social security benefits to their job order and contract of service workers during times of contingencies. Meanwhile, Macasaet visited the KaSSSama sa Coverage Program servicing counter set up for the occasion in the BI head office in Intramuros, Manila, where SSS personnel assisted BI workers in creating online accounts with SSS, registering as self-employed members, generating Payment Reference Numbers for contribution payment, verifying member’s records, and answering inquiries on various SSS benefits and loan programs.

Since December 2022, SSS has partnered with 1,531 local government units (LGUs), 499 national government agencies, 111 state universities and colleges (SUCs), and 68 local water districts, covering job order and contract of service workers through the KaSSSama sa Coverage Program, with a total collection exceeding P5.5 billion. The SSS aims to secure the future of all job order and contract of service workers in government agencies nationwide.