SSS Notice

Medical check-up to be done by SSS doctors

Inquirer News Service

THIS is in reference to the letter OF Maximino Balabbo complaining about the purported SSS policy that requires pensioners to undergo medical checkup. (Inquirer, 9/01/05)

The letter asked who would shoulder the expenses for this annual medical checkup. Under the Annual Confirmation of Pensioners (Acop) program, the medical checkup will be administered by a doctor of the Social Security System (SSS). Pensioners will not spend anything on this.

The Acop program, which was started early last year, is part of the reforms intended to ensure that pensioners get the right benefits; it is also meant to enable SSS to recover the money erroneously sent to those who have died, remarried or recovered from their disabilities.

If a pensioner is unable to go to an SSS branch for checkup, he or she can request for a home visit by an SSS representative. A pensioner can also communicate with the SSS by responding to its letters, or by sending a certification that he or she is alive and eligible to receive pension. The certification may be issued by a regular SSS employee who has been working with the SSS for at least five years, or by a teller in the bank where he or she has an account, or even by the postman or barangay chair.

We wish to point out that SSS employees do not receive dividends from the fund as Balabbo alleged.

JOEL P. PALACIOS, assistant vice president, Media Affairs Department, Social Security System, East Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City