A TOTAL of 160,225 Social Security System (SSS) pensioners in Negros Island Region (NIR) can already withdraw their January retroactive increase of P1,000 starting March 3.
Janice Diaz, senior communications analyst of SSS Visayas West I Division, said Thursday, March 2, that the agency has already downloaded the amount to the pensioners' respective bank accounts ahead of the scheduled release.
She said that after the release of January's P1,000 retroactive increase, payment schedules for February and this month's differentials totaling to P2,000 will be released on March 10 and 17, respectively.
"The release of the initial increase shows that the agency is true to its word to the people and to the President," Diaz said, adding that if there are cases of non-release of additional benefits, pensioners in the region are advised to report it to the agency through its branches in their localities.
SSS records showed that Bacolod City has the most number of pensioners in the region, at 51,857.
They form part of at least two million pensioners in the country who are expected to receive their initial increase Friday, March 3.
President Rodrigo Duterte approved the P1,000 additional benefit for SSS pensioners on January 10, while the order authorizing the release was signed on February 22.
The amount is half of the initial proposal of P2,000 across-the-board pension increase.
The SSS, in a press statement Thursday, said it has allocated about P2 billion for the pensioners' January additional benefit.
Based on the program re-run conducted by the pension fund's Information and Systems Department, SSS said more than P2.04 billion was already deposited in the pensioners' bank accounts and are ready for withdrawal on the announced dates.
All retirees, survivors, and permanent disability pensioners will receive the additional benefit, which also covers all future pensioners, the agency added.
"SSS will continue to find ways to make our pension fund viable so it can continuously serve its current and future members in perpetuity," its president and chief operating officer Emmanuel Dooc said.
For the first quarter of 2017, SSS had estimated around P6.9 billion for the release of the additional P1,000 monthly benefits.
The amount is on top of the P7.4 billion released per month since January 2017 for the pensioners' regular benefits.
