In the first five months of this year, the Social Security System (SSS) said it released P90.52 billion in benefits under its Social Security and Employees Compensation (EC) program.

Payments from January to May this year picked up 13.3 percent from P79.93 billion in the same period last year, according to its statement released on Wednesday. It benefited around 3.46 million members, retirees, and beneficiaries.

In the statement, Aurora Ignacio, SSS president and chief executive officer, said, “Along with the rapidly increasing membership base is the constant rise of benefit releases to our qualified members, pensioners, and beneficiaries.”

“This only shows that SSS remains true to its mandate of providing meaningful social security benefits to all working Filipinos, especially during times of contingencies.”

According to the state-run pension fund, over 99 percent of the total benefit releases, or P89.92 billion, were for social security payments, with the remaining P608 million for EC benefit disbursements.

Retirement payouts, which amounted to P53.74 billion and cover over 1.81 million retirees, account for 60 percent of total benefit payments.

The SSS also reported that it paid P23.72 billion in death benefits to 1.08 million claimants, P2.44 billion in disability benefits to 97,258 members, P5.99 billion maternity benefits to 157,132 female members, P1.44 billion in sickness benefits to 147,210 members, P1.96 billion funeral benefit to 84,530 claimants, and P642 million unemployment benefits to 47,764 members.

Under the EC program, it also gave P426 million death benefits to 16,492 beneficiaries, P78 million disability benefits to 2,044 members, P98 million sickness benefits to 11,663 members, P2 million for medical services to 393 members, and P3 million in funeral benefits to 114 claimants.

“On top of the regular SS benefits, employed and self-employed members are also entitled to receive EC benefits in case of work-related sickness or injury, disability or death,” Ignacio noted.

SSS benefit proceeds are disbursed through PESONet partner banks’ disbursement accounts, e-wallets, or remittance transfer companies/cash pick-up outlets or using a Unified Multipurpose Identification or UMID card enrolled as an automated teller machine card since July last year.