The Social Security System (SSS) said Thursday contributions to its Worker’s Investment and Savings Program (WISP) reached P79.51 billion from 6.02 million as of December 2023.
Established in January 2021 as part of Republic Act 11199, WISP is a mandatory provident fund scheme that serves as another savings for private-sector workers and other individual paying members of the SSS.
The safe, convenient and tax-free individual retirement savings plan allows members to invest and earn returns from their contributions, embodying the core principle of “Work, Save, Invest, and Prosper.”
Finance Secretary Ralph Recto was credited by the SSS for the success of the WISP, which was created under the Social Security Act of 2018 that he sponsored during his tenure as a legislator.
The program covers private-sector employees, self-employed individuals, overseas workers and voluntary members who have no final claim and have contributions to the regular SSS program and have a monthly salary credit that exceeds P20,000.
WISP contributions are paid together with regular SSS contributions. In addition to those provided by the regular SSS program, members are entitled to disability and death benefits, as well as a retirement fund.
The SSS also launched the WISP Plus in December 2022––a voluntary retirement savings program offered exclusively to SSS members. It serves as an additional layer of support apart from regular retirement benefits.
WISP Plus contributions amounted to P391.63 million from around 30,536 members as of Dec. 31, 2023.
WISP and WISP Plus actual investment portfolios as of November 2023 amounted to P76.34 billion and P1.41 billion, respectively. The annualized return on investment of WISP was recorded at 5.33 percent, while WISP Plus was at 6.87 percent.
The Social Security Act of 2018 rationalized and broadened the powers and responsibilities of the Social Security Commission (SSC) to ensure the long-term viability of the SSS and make it more responsive to the evolving needs of its stakeholders.