Exclusive - Senator Gordon Tells SSS execs: Justify your fat paychecks with better service to people

The Senate heard yet another heated session yesterday, as Senator Dick Gordon was not pleased with Social Security Systems (SSS) officials and even dared them to justify their “fat paychecks” by looking for ways to improve the retirement benefits its 33 million members.

Senator Gordon, chair of the Senate Committee on Government Corporations and Public Enterprises issued the challenge in a hearing conducted jointly with the Committees on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development; Health and Demography; and Finance.

He demanded from the SSS officials that they should be able to defend their P450,000 monthly salary by the kind of service they provide to its members.

“When you pay somebody well, you expect value for money. We do not mind paying somebody a high salary if the returns are high and members would reap the benefits because the Board members are thinking well.

They’re not doing it just so they can finish but come up with solutions to increase the benefits of the people,” he pointed out.

Gordon hopes to be the proponent of the P2,000 increase in the pension of SSS members by next month, and added that this should be the aim of forced savings by any significant country.

He emphasized on giving more and better benefits, stating that the company should be “transformational because what I think here is that we’re just transactional”

Just last month, the president of SSS and CEO Emilio de Quiros, Jr. defended the agency by stating that increasing the monthly pension of retirees might shorten the actuarial life of the state pension fund. He said the monthly contributions of members should be raised if pension hike proposals pass Congress.

Congress has taken a two-week break and will resume on November 7.