The Social Security System (SSS) on Friday said it has issued SSS Circular No. 2023 to lower service fees charged by SSS-accredited collecting banks, and remittance and transfer companies.
SSS president and chief executive officer Rolando Macasaet said the pass-on service fees being charged by SSS collecting partners shall be lowered and capped at P8 per transaction for online payment channels and at P10 per transaction for over-the-counter payment.
SSS members will greatly benefit from the reduction of service fees whenever they pay their contributions over-the-counter and through online payment channels, he said.
The lowered service fees cover the monthly contribution payments of self-employed and voluntary members, overseas Filipino workers, farmers and fishermen, and non-working spouses.
The new guideline also applies to contribution payments of employed SSS members for the Worker’s Investment and Savings Program (WISP) Plus.
“We talked and negotiated with our collecting partner banks as well as with remittance and transfer companies to help ease the burden of ordinary SSS members by reducing the pass-on service fee whenever members pay their regular social security and WISP Plus contributions
over-the-counter or through online payment channels,” Macasaet said.
Prior to the new guidelines, banks charged SSS members pass-on service fee of up to P25 per transaction while remittance and transfer companies charged pass-on service fee of up to P15 per transaction when paying their contributions.
The lowered pass-on service fees took effect last May 1.