SENATOR Richard J. Gordon has challenged officials of the Social Security System to justify the high salaries they get by devising ways to improve the retirement benefits of the 33-million members of the state pension fund.
Gordon issued the challenge during the Senate Committee on Government Corporations and Public Enterprises hearing conducted jointly with the Committees on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development; Health and Demography; and Finance.
A proposal mandating a P2,000 across-the-board hike in the monthly pension of SSS retirees was also approved by the joint panel.
“When you pay somebody well, you expect value for money,” Gordon said.
On the SSS’ concern it would have a shorter lifetime if the monthly pension of retirees would be increased, Gordon pointed out the SSS should be much more aggressive in getting more members and invest funds wisely to increase its resources.
“We cannot act on fear, we have to be more aggressive. I will ask questions later on, on how we can be more aggressive so we can have more members, so we can invest the funds in worthwhile endeavors so you can get resources and our people will deserve more than a paltry amount when they retire or when they die. I think this is one of the legacies that any country of significance should be aiming for,” said Gordon.
“When we ask people to save in the nature of forced savings, there must be a good replacement. It should be transformational because what I think here is that we’re just transactional,” he stressed.
Gordon said he hopes to sponsor the bill next month and a bicameral conference conducted soon so that the bill could be signed into law before Christmas.
Congress has taken a two-week break to resume on Nov. 7.