World-class service the SSS way

By TITA C. VALDERAMA

SSS stands for Social Security System. The SSS was conceived to provide social security protection to its members. It is supposed to serve as an insurance program that members can turn to in times of financial need, such as sickness, disability, maternity, old age and death, or other contingencies that resulted in the loss of income or financial burden.

The SSS was 30 years old when I became its member in 1987. In the last 25 years, I have had too many headaches with my transactions with the agency. The problems were essentially caused by service inefficiency, although not solely at the fault of the SSS.

When the stock market was in one of its most bullish periods in 1988, I availed myself of the SSS Stock Investment Loan. I was eligible for P40, 000 loan that was payable in five years through salary deduction. Good deal. But by a stroke of bad luck, at the end of the payment period in 1994 the SSS asked me to pay P12,000 more for stocks that its partner-broker bought in my name but was in excess of my P40,000 loan ceiling.

I refused to pay the amount. Why should I pay for something that their partner-broker bought in excess of the loan amount granted to me? Besides, the excess amount was invested in stocks that were heavily losing that time.

That was not the end of my problems with the SIL. The SSS could not locate one of three stock certificates that my loan was invested in. After several trips to the SSS main office in Quezon City and to the broker’s office in Makati that required me to take leaves of absence from work, I finally got the stock certificate just last year, a good 17 years after I had fully paid the loan.

Except when I was jobless for six months last year, I paid my premium contributions and loans to the SSS. Rather, all my contributions and loan amortizations were automatically deducted from my monthly salary. I even had double payments in 2007 when I moved from one employer to another, and the previous company deducted SSS contributions from my back pay.

Why the SSS has failed or refused to penalize a delinquent former employer, which did not remit my contributions and loan amortizations for six months in 2004 baffles me. Instead, I bear the brunt of its inefficiency to collect my payments from and to go after the erring company.

I tried four times since 2007 to obtain a salary loan from the SSS when I needed to have my house repaired, when I needed to undergo medical treatment, when I had to resign from work, and when I needed money to pay my annual premium for a life insurance policy. In all those four times, my applications were rejected because I was “delinquent in payment of salary loan” and that the “total loan balance exceeds P500.” As of June 2011, I had a loan balance of P15,292.84.

I was told that I can get a loan if I allow SSS to deduct the loan balance from the amount I can borrow. But why should I pay for something that had been deducted from me years ago, but was not remitted by the company that collected it? Shouldn’t the SSS go after the company?

Complaints had been filed with the SSS against the Philippine Journalists, Inc. The company claimed that it had been granted condonation in July 2010 for unremitted contributions of employees from June to December 2004, but my records remain messy due to service inefficiency by both the SSS and PJI.

Just last week, a few days after President Benigno 3rd granted SSS officials and employees an anniversary bonus of P10, 000 each for their good performance in the previous year, I went to the SSS branch at YMCA building behind the Manila City Hall to check what it has specifically done to collect from my former employer, and to verify a double payment I had in 2007.

At the reception was a burly man who turned me away because the office only entertains questions of the nature that I have in the morning.

Because of heavy traffic from where I live, I arrived at the SSS office shortly before noontime. I was told to come back the next day, but I did not have time to do so. I just asked if I have the correct documents to show to address my concerns. I wanted to make sure my time won’t be wasted again the next time I go back. The man at the reception was firm. I should just come back the next morning.

I insisted that I have letters from my previous employers that indicated the Special Bank Receipt (SBR) numbers representing the payments that were not recorded properly in my account, as it appeared in my online SSS record of actual premium contributions.

Apparently pissed, the receptionist asserted that I should bring the actual receipts of payment. I said these were with my previous employers. He suggested that I just ask the next day if I can come back. I sensed it was useless talking to the unaccommodating receptionist. He was probably hungry because it was lunch time.

That was probably how he understood the SSS vision statement to provide “world class service: social security service that is prompt, accurate and courteous . . . to ensure total member satisfaction.”

The length of time SSS processes applications for identification cards is yet another “world-class service” that is hard to surpass.

After four visits to the SSS main office in Quezon City in the last two months, my application for renewal of my ID was finally completed, but I was told to wait at least six months to get it from the mail. I have friends and friends of friends who waited for a year to get their IDs from the SSS.

I lost my SSS ID to pickpockets in a jeepney on my way home two months ago. The wallet where I kept my SSS ID also had my BIR, Philhealth, and office IDs, a credit card and shopping discount cards. I have renewed all of those, except the SSS.

At the BIR and Philhealth offices, it took me just about 30 minutes to get my new IDs. The SSS is supposed to have invested a lot of members’ monies for its “computerized” processing equipment. It should render faster service to members. If that is the way modernization is going for a government entity, we might as well have things done manually.

Please bear with me for venting my disappointments and disgust with the poor service of the SSS and how badly I was treated by a company I served well for 20 years. I hope something is done soon not only on my case but on so many others as well, including former co-employees who suffer the same unwarranted penalties.

World-class service, the SSS way is truly a disservice to its members whose contributions keep it going.

Comments are welcome at tvalderama@yahoo.comThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.