Pasig City:The Social Security System (SSS) and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) have finalized a memorandum of agreement to include approximately 1,996 job order (JO) and contract of service (COS) workers of the MMDA in the KaSSSangga Collect Program (KCP).

According to Philippines News Agency, the agreement was signed at the MMDA headquarters and designates MMDA as an authorized Coverage and Collection Partner of the SSS. This partnership enables the collection of monthly contributions from its JO and COS workers through a salary-deduction scheme, which will then be remitted to the SSS.

The KCP is designed to provide social security coverage to JO and COS workers associated with local government units, national agencies, state universities, colleges, and local water districts. These workers are typically excluded from the Government Service Insurance System due to their employment status.

Through this arrangement, JO and COS workers registered as self-employed members of the SSS will gain access to various benefits, including sickness, maternity, disability, retirement, funeral, and death benefits. They can also apply for loan programs such as salary, emergency, and micro loans, and receive extra coverage from the Employees' Compensation (EC) Program for work-related health issues.

The SSS will support the MMDA in registering its workers as members and in generating the necessary Payment Reference Number for contribution remittances. Regular employees can continue to pay their contributions voluntarily under this program.

The SSS contribution rate is set at 15 percent. For self-employed members, the lowest monthly contribution is PHP760, while the highest is PHP5,280, which includes both regular and EC contributions, as well as the Mandatory Provident Fund.