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Title:
Link / Regional Office for Asia and th0DffiflO0f thb:ffibfrj
Component:
Link / Regional Office for Asia and the pacif
Issue:
no. a2 Q007 ) (0/5)
Routing List:
P09403
/
COP I
A quarterly publication of the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific of the lnternational Social Security Association
World Social Security First WSSF to
Forum a landmark
discuss innovative
event
responses to
globalization
The first World Social Security Forum (29th ISSA
GeneralAssembly)will take place in Moscow (Russian
Federation) from 10 to 15 September 2007, and will bring
together more than 1,000 officials of social security
organizations, senior policymakers and academics from
over 100 countries.
The forum is organized by the lnternational Social
Security Association (ISSA), the main global platform for
national social security administrations and agencies.
"The Forum will be a landmark event in international
collaboration in this sector, allowing participants to
take stock of current trends and developments in the
field of social security, and to reinforce the role of ISSA
members in promoting dynamic social security," explained
Mr. Hans-Horst Konkolewsky, Secretary General of
The Moscow World Trade Center will house
the World Social Security Forum that will be
heldfrcm l0 to 15 September 2007.
Continued next page
Social security systems are innovating to cope with
ageing populations, informal labour markets and
economic upheaval, and these trends will be the focus
of the first World Social Security Forum (WSSF).
"Globalization is dramatically impacting all sectors
of society, including social security", said Mr. Hans-Horst
Konkolewsky, Secretary General of the lnternational
Social Security Association (ISSA), which is organizing
the WSSF. "Research that will be presented in the forum
confirms that, through innovation, social security is
responding proactively to the challenges of globalization
by contributing to socialjustice and more equitable
economic development," he said.
New directions in social security are analyzed in a
report to be presented at the WSSF, Developmenfs and
Trends Suppofting Dynamic Socra/ Secuity, and will be
the subject ,lf the plenaries and technical sessions on a
range of topics during the event.
A highlight of the week will be the Social Security
Summit, which will look at the role of social security in a
globalized economy, in particular in mitigating
inequalities and alleviating povefi. The summit will
involve ministers and senior officials for social security
programmes in several countries as well as officials
from the lnternational Labour Office, the World Bank,
the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Continued next page
ISSA Asia & Pacific
Link
September 2007
ISSA NEWS
Continued from page
Continued from page
1
the ISSA.
Among the issues on the Forum's agenda are social
security's roles in tackling poverty and social injustice, in
extending access to health coverage and pensions, and
in addressing the social and economic costs of disability.
The challenges of increasing administrative efficiency in
social security will also be discussed.
The Forum will take stock of recent significant
trends in social security and their possible impact on
national social and economic development. The ISSA's
Technical Commissions will also report on the outcome
of studies undertaken during the triennium in their
respective fields.
The 29th ISSA GeneralAssembly will finalize a new
programme strategy, adopt a series of constitutional
amendments, and elect a new governing body for the
Association, the ISSA Bureau.
The Forum will culminate in a high-level summit on
the crucial role of social security in social and economic
development, which is expected to involve senior
officials, opinion leaders and policymakers from a
spectrum of international organizations and civil
society. g
Source: www.issa,int
1
Development, and the Council of Europe.
Among other topics on the forum's agenda are
social security's role in the prevention of occupational
diseases, the use of new technologies, change and
risk management, financing health care, and pension
fund investment strategies. Plenary sessions will be
devoted to the extension of coverage and the social
situation in the Russian Federation.
The main social security institutions of the Russian
Federation are the hosts of the first WSSF. The event
is hosted by the four ISSA members of the country:
the Ministry of Health and Social Development, the
Pension Fund of the Russian Federation , the Social
lnsurance Fund of the Russian Federation, and the
Non State Pension Fund "Gazfond" in Moscow in
September 2007.
The flagship event of the ISSA for 2007 marks a
triple jubilee: the 80th anniversary of ISSA, 50 years
since Russian members joined the ISSA, and 40 years
since Russia last hosted the ISSA GeneralAssembly in
the city of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). The
Russian government endorsed the decision to host the
WSSF, and agreed to provide support for the event. 71
Source: ISSA COMM/03.09.2007
Building New ISSA: Summary of activities 2006
Promoting good practice in social security; ensuring
global reach through regional action; enabling knowledge
transfer; and helping make the world of work safer
healthier. These are some of the key messages of
lnternational Social Security
Association (ISSA) in its annual report
for 2006 released this June, the first in
a new format.
The illustrated report, entitled
"Building New ISSA: A Summary of
Activities in 2006", offers a concise
overview of the Association's
programmes in the past year, and
provides an outlook on upcoming key
events.
ln the introduction, the ISSA
President, Ms. Corazon de la Paz, and
the ISSA Secretary General, Mr. HansHorst Konkolewsky, write that the report
"demonstrates the richness and impact
of our activities designed to cooperate,
at the international level, in the promotion and
and
the
development of social security. ln a world where social
security institutions face evolving challenges, the ISSA
must also adapt to continue successfully pursuing its
mandate".
The summary of activities highlights
the Association's support for members'
programmes to reduce child poverty,
combat unemployment and extend
social security coverage. Knowledge
kansfer is at the heart of ISSA's work,
and the reports outline some of the
diverse technical, research and training
activities undertaken during the year.
For the first time, the report is
available in Arabic, Chinese and
Russian as well as the |SSAworking
languages of French, English, Spanish
and German. The report can be
downloaded from the ISSA Website and
is available on request from the ISSA
Secretariat. 74
Source: ISSA COMM4 8.06.2007
Septcrttber 2007
ISSA A.sia
& Pacific Lirtk
ISSA NEWS
ISSA Asia
& Pacific Link
September 2007
ISSA NEWS
Dynamic and innovative social
security can secure the social
dimension of globalization
"Social protection and social
security must adapt dynamically and
innovate to
secure the
global
ahead of the World Social Security
dimension of
globalization,"
press conference by
Dr. Carmelo MesaLago, an international
expert on social
security and the
recipient of the first
decent work research
prize of the
lnternational Labour
Organization (lLO);
Mr. lvan Dubov,
Director, Department
of lnternational
Cooperation and
Public Relations,
Ministry of Health and
Social Development of the Russian
Federation; and Mr. Blaise Matthey,
Director of the Swiss employers'
organization, the F6deration des
Entreprises Romandes. g
and this
September's
World Social
Security Forum
will provide an
important
platform to
debate ways
fonruard to a
dynamic social
security,
according to
the Secretary
General of the
lnternational Social Security
Association (ISSA).
The remarks were made during
an address by the Secretary General,
Mr. Hans-Horst Konkolewsky, to the
96th Session of the lnternational
Labour Conference (lLC) in Geneva
on 13 June 2007.
"The ISSA considers a dynamic
social security system as one that
constantly strives towards achieving
the following characteristics: to be
accessible to all, sustainable and well
governed, to be fonrard-looking,
innovative and proactive and, finally,
to be socially inclusive and
economically productive," said the
Secretary General.
The importance of new
responses to the challenges facing
social security was reiterated by
speakers at a Geneva press
conference organized by the ISSA
Forum.
The ISSA
Secretary General
was joined at the
Source: www.issa.int
ISSA and
Accenture
report on
leading change
in social
security
organizations
Social security organizations
everywhere find themselves
squeezed between constituents'
rising expectations and financial
constraints.
New pressures require these
organizations to adapt to political
requirements, adopt new
technologies and improve their
capacity to manage change and
innovate.
Since 2005, the lnternational
Social Security Association (ISSA)
has teamed with Accenture, the
global management consulting
company, to conduct original
research to explore the practices
of change management in social
security organizations.
The ISSA/Accenture report,
Managing Change or Leading
Change?, was a key element in
the programme of international
conference on Leadership and
innovations: Change management
and risk management in social
security organizations in Vienna,
Austria, from 02 to 04 July 2007,
organized by the ISSA Technical
Commission on Administrative
Management, Organization and
Methods
(rcoM)
and hosted
by the
Austrian
Social
lnsurance
lnstitutions.
Over 200
senior
executives
from 70
countries attended the event.
"Social security systems exist
to provide service and improve
people's lives, and therefore have
an obligation to strive towards
excellence in their performance,"
said Mr. Hans-Horst Konkolewsky,
Secretary General of the ISSA.
"The study confirms that
successful change involves
innovative leadership and creative
ISSA Asia
September 2007
REGIONAL NEWS
ISSA NEWS
thinking, and the conference will
discuss how institutions can be
reinvented to become more relevant
and effective," he said.
The quality of delivery of social
protection impacts on the welfare of
individuals and the community, and
contributes to the prosperity, peace
and democracy of a country,
according to Mr. Erry Stoove,
Chairman of the Board and CEO of
the Social lnsurance Bank (SVB)in
the Netherlands and Chairman of the
TCOM.
"Effective change in social
security therefore requires
strengthened cooperation and
dialogue between political and
administrative leaderships," he said.
The lSSlVAccenture report
reaches four main conclusions:
o The art of making change is more
complicated than ever;
'
Social security executives
understand change management and
are managing change effectively;
o Bold leaders are raising their
sights, using innovative approaches
that deliver excellent results;
o Nonetheless, there is more to be
done.
The report entitled Managing
Change or Leading Change? is also
on the agenda of the World Social
Security Forum organized by the
ISSA in Moscow, in September 2007.
The lSSfuAccenture report is
available at the lSSAwebsite
(www.issa.int). 71
Source: I SSA COMM/29.06.2007
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11th Regional Pension & Social
lnsurance Conference
The 11th Regional Pension &
Social lnsurance Conference, was
held in the Hashemite Kingdom of
Jordan, from 30 to 31 May 2007 .ll
was organized by the Muhanna
Foundation in association with the
Social Security of Jordan. There
were 152 representatives from 2'l
countries in attendance.
The conference that was
opened by H,E. Dr. Morouf Bakhit,
Prime Minister of the hosting
country, covered the theme of "The
Pillars" which discussed subjects
concerning the five different pillars
of social protection, ranging from
welfare to health care.
Ms. Corazon de la Paz, the
ISSA President, also addressed the
audience during the opening
ceremony. She pointed at the
significance of the conference's
theme since it captured the
importance of having
comprehensive and integrated
social protection schemes for the
working population and their
dependants.
The reference to actuarial
valuation was very prominent
throughout the conference. A
number of actuaries from various
countries were in attendance in the
audience.
ln the opening ceremony,
Mr. lbrahim Muhanna, Chairman of
the Board of Trustees of the
Muhanna Foundation, emphasized
the importance of making the best
use of actuarial expertise. He said
that to date, there is a vast room for
improving on actuarial practices to
promote the financial sustainability
of any social insurance system.
The lnternational Actuarial
Association was represented by its
Secretary General, Mr. Yves
Guerard who spoke at the opening
ceremony. ln a subsequent
presentation, he reviewed civil
service pension schemes around
the world and compared some of
the current successful and
unsuccessful programmes.
The three remaining opening
sessions were addressed by
Mr. Omar Al Razzaz, Director
General of the Social Security
Corporation of Jordan, Mr. Abdel
Khalik Raouf Khalil, the Secretary
General of the GeneralArab
lnsurance Federation, and last but
not least, by H.E. Dr. Morouf Bakhit.
Many speakers discussed the
challenges faced by pension funds
in the Middle East and the Arab
World amidst the changing
demographic and economic
environment. g
Source: The Muhanna Foundation
ISSA Asia
& Pacific Link
Septentber 2007
REGIONAL NEWS
Officials of SSNIT of Ghana visit the
Philippines
AppotNrrunrurs
A delegation
of officials from
the Social
Security and
National
lnsurance Trust
(SSNIT)of
Ghana arrived
for a four dayvisit of the Social
Security System
(SSS) of the
Philippines, from
Mr. Ziaee
Mr. Hosseinali Ziaee
the new Chairman of the Board
and Chief Executive Officer of
21to24May
2007.
The delegation was headed by
Mr. Ohene Kwaku Abu-Bonsrah,
General Manager, Operations and
included Mr. Kwabena Osei-Boaten,
General Manager, Management
lnformation Systems; Mr. J. K.
lnkhoom, Manager, Pensions
Service; and Mr. Felix Joseph
Bruce-Smith, Web Application
Developer.
The delegation's visit was
aimed at studying the membership
and pension computer software
application systems being used by
the SSS. This was in line with the
plan of the SSNIT to enhance its
pension administration software and
to improve the processing of
member and contribution data.
The officials were given a tour
of the SSS ID Card Production
Center and the Members'
Assistance Center.
They also visited the ISSA
Regional Office for Asia and the
Pacific and conferred with its
director, Ms. Maribel D. Ortiz, on
issues in the coverage of informal
sector workers, the potential use of
mobile phones in advancing social
security coverage, and forthcoming
ISSA events in the region. g
was
appointed on 26 June 2007 as
the Social Security
ISSA Regional
Office New
Executive Assistant
Beginning in July 2007, the
ISSA Regional Office for the Asia
and the Pacific has a new executive
assistant, Mr. lreneo Ma. P. Taala ll,
who took over the
functions of Ms.
Hazel H. Nicolas.
Ms. Nicolas has
since reported
back to the
Philippine Social
rrrr' Taala
Mr.
Security System
as Junior Specialist at the
Corporate Policy and Planning
rcrqrq
Office.
Mr. Taala received his primary
degree from the Ecumenical
Christian College and his
secondary degree at Tarlac State
University Laboratory School. He
graduated college with a bachelo/s
degree in commerce major in
financial management from St.
Louis University of the Philippines.
Mr. Taala is currently pursuing his
master's degree in business
administration at St. Louis
University.
g
Organization (SSO) of lslamic
Republic of lran. The decree
appointing Mr.Ziaee which was
issued by Mr. Abdolreza Mesri,
the Minister of Social Security
and Welfare, cited Mr. Ziaeefor
his competence, brilliance and
invaluable experiences in
administration. Prior to his
appointment, as Chairman and
CEO, he was the former
Managing Director of the Civil
Servant Pension Fund.
Mr. Ziaee previously served as
the Representative of Shahin
Dej people in the 3rd term of the
lslamic Parliament, Governor
of Karaj City, and was in charge
of the Central Bank of lran.
Mr. Ziaee was born in 1956 in
the City of Shahin Dej and
obtained his degree Bachelor
of Science in
Electrical
Engineering from Mazandaran
University.
Mr. Ziaee pledged that under
his leadership, the SSO will
create an atmosphere of peace
and harmony for its members
as they avail of its vast facilities
and services.
The ISSAAsia & PacificLink
wishes him success in his
endeavors.
ISSA Asia
September 2007
& Pacific Link
COUNTRY NEWS
Pension reform in
its full
implementation
A new pension law has
eventually divided the national social
security into two components: social
insurance and social assistance. lt is
envisaged that this law will enhance
the efficiency of the national social
protection system. Since January
2006 all employees and employers
are registered under a new social
insurance system based on
personalized accounts. All social
insurance contributions are refl ected
in these accounts. ln 2006,
contribution rates constitule 22 per
cent for employers and 3 per cent for
employees of monthly payrolls.
A new pension law introduced a
new structure of old-age pension in
the country: basic, insurance and
funded parts of labour pension.
The basic part of pension is a
flat rate defined by the Presidential
Decree and increased on a regular
basis by no less than the annual
inflation rate, at least once a year. ln
accordance with this law, working
pensioners receive 100 per cent of
the basic part of their pensions.
Presidential Decree No.311 "0n
implementation of the law of the
Azerbaijan Republic on the State of
Budget of Azerbaijan Republic for the
year 2006", provides that the basic
part of pension will increase from
MN 30 to 35 (1 USD = 0.92MN)
from 01 October 2006.
The insurance part is calculated
as a ratio between the accumulated
amount of notional insurance
capital registered with the insurance
part of the personal accounts and the
period of the person's life expectancy
(144 months). ln accordance with
this law the insurance part of
pensions is indexed annually and
cannot be less than the annual
inflation rate.
The funded part is calculated
as the ratio between the
accumulated amount in the funded
part of personal accounts (to be
introduced in 2010)and the period
of life expectancy (144 months). 71
Source; /SSA, Irends in Social
Security, No. 4,2006
Government eyes
universal access to
primary health care
system
ln his government report
delivered on 5 March 2007 at the
National People's Congress,
Premier Jiabao Wen declared that
the government would strive to
accelerate the reform and
development of health undertakings
with a view to establishing a primary
health care system covering all
urban and rural residents.
He said that in 2007, the
government will concentrate on four
work areas of work. First is to
actively promote the new rural
cooperative medical scheme, which
was instituted in 2000 to ease the
burden of health costs of farmers,
where one{hird of the cost would
be borne each by the farmer, the
localgovernment, and the central
government. The central
government's annual subsidy in
2007 will amount to CNY 10.1
billion (1 USD = 7.56 CNY), an
increase of CNY 5.8 billion over last
year. The scope of coverage of the
new system is expected to exceed
80 per cent of the counties
throughout the country by the end
o'f
2007.
Second is to speed up the
construction of a new type of
community-based urban health
service network during which the
central government will provide
adequate financial support to less
developed central and western
regions.
Third is to launch pilots on
primary health care insurance for
non-salaried urban residents
(mostly uncovered elderly and
children) which will mainly focus
on pooling for major diseases.
Likewise, the government will
render necessary subsidy to
poverty-stricken residents. Each
province has been mandated to
choose at least one or two cities
or prefectures in 2007 as pilot
areas. Quite a few provinces such
as Liaonin, Jiangsu and Jiangxi
have reportedly either
implemented or are planning to
implement programmes to extend
health insurance coverage to all
urban residents within their
jurisdiction in two to five years
through a substantial government
subsidy ranging from one-third to
more than half of the insurance
premiums.
Fourth is to strengthen the
work of prevention against major
contagious diseases and
incorporate into the State
immunization programme 1 5
diseases such as Hepatitis A
which can be effectively prevented
through vaccine injection. On the
basis of free medical treatment for
contagious diseases such as AIDS
and snail fever, the list of free
treatment diseases will be further
expanded. 71
ISSA Asia
& Pacilic Link
September 2007
COUNTRY NEWS
Proposal to amend
the universal health
insurance scheme
ln order to provide health care
protection and easy access to good
health services to poor families, the
Prime Minister inaugurated in 2003 a
community-based Universal Health
lnsurance Scheme (UHIS). ln 2004,
the scheme was redesigned to make
it exclusively for persons and families
Below the Poverty Line (BPL), as
those families seemed to avoid the
scheme due to inability to pay the
premium. The premium subsidy was
enhanced from INR 100 to 200 (1
USD = 40.97 INR)for individuals,
INR 300 for families of five persons
and INR 400 for families of seven
persons.
ln March 2006, the Committee
Public
on
Undertakings, a
Parliamentary Committee consisting
of 22 members, along with the
Ministry of Finance, presented to
Parliament a study on health
insurance, which included an
evaluation of the UHIS, The study
states that the UHIS has had
limited success and recommends its
revision. The scheme has
benefited only about 10,000 families
over the past two years, against a
target of 100,000 families in the first
phase.
One of the problems was that
the scheme was confined to the BPL
segment of the population contrary to
the original version of the scheme
that was designed to achieve the
twin objectives of making this
scheme more attractive to the BPL
segment and to cover a larger
segment of the poor population, The
committee recommends extending
the scheme to the families above the
poverty line as well.
Another cause of limited
success of UHIS has been
incomplete identification of BPL and
the insufficient efforts made by
insurance companies to cover
larger segments of the population
under health insurance schemes.
The Committee wants the
government to set ambitious targets
for the insurance companies and to
closely monitor their performance
so that they strictly comply with the
established targets.
Finally, the Committee would
like the subsidies for the poor and
BPL segments made available to all
existing health insurance schemes
and not reshicted only to UHIS, as
is the case now. The Minister of
State for Finance has ruled out any
intention of the government to
review the health insurance
scheme. The Minister affirms that
the re-designed UHIS of 2004
covering only BPL families has the
same set of benefits but provides
also enhanced subsidies for
individual and families, as explained
above. Furthermore, the public
sector and private insurance
companies had been able to cover
65,718 families in 2004 to 2005 and
68,296 families in 2005 to 2006
across the country. g
Source; /SSA, Irends in Social
Security, N0.4,2006
SSO's prosthesis
and orthosis
facilities, "Health
Smart Card", new
government bi!!
To improve service delivery,
ensure satisfaction and equitable
and sufficient medical facilities, the
Board of Directors of the Social
Security Organization (SS0) issued
new instructions concerning its
prosthesis and orthosis services,
SSO old-age
pensioners and
total disability
beneficiaries
are entitled to
receive the
cost of a
second set of
Mr. Ziaee
complete
artificial teeth prosthesis, if they
have been paid such a
reimbursement for the first time for
at least ten years ago.
To facilitate payment, the
process of obtaining confirmation
for the medical prosthesis and
orthosis with a certain tariff from
the SSO trustee physician is
eliminated, provided that a related
specialist physician has
prescribed the necessary
requirements.
Meanwhile, the SSO recently
announced the satisfactory
progress of the "Health Smart
Card". The card contains all
information on the insured's health
status as well as identity and
fingerprint information to prevent
forgery or misuse. A pilot prolect
will soon be implemented in one
of the provinces.
ln another development, the
lslamic parliament of l.R. lran has
legislated a law that exempts
employers form the payment of
insurance fines. 0n this basis,
employers who have previously
not paid contributions to the SSO
for the year 2005 will be exempted
from paying the relevant fines,
provided that they pay their
conhibutions in arrears, including
the contribution and
unemployment insurance share of
the employees, within six months
after the date of approval of the
law, according to Mr. Abdolreza
Mesri, the Minister of Welfare and
ISSA Asia
Septenber 2007
& Pacifrc Link
COU N"[R\' N E\\
SocialSecurity.
as well as rights, benefits, and
ha
Meanwhile,
the SSO
announced the
appointment of
Mr. Hamid Hodjat
as the new
Mr. Hodjat
General Director,
for its Public Relations and
ffi
lnternational Alfairs Department vice Mr.
Mohammad Mansour Azim zadeh.
Source: SS0 Publtc Relations and
I ntern ation al Aff ai rs Department
S
g
Al Razzaz calls
upon Jordanian
expatriates to
benefit from
voluntary
contribution
To ensure the social protection of
Jordanian expatriates, the Director
General of the
SocialSecurity
Corporation
(SSC), Mr. Omar
Al Razzaz, asked
all Jordanian
expatriates
Mr. Al Razzaz
working outside
the Kingdom to
contribute voluntarily to the old-age,
disability, and death insurance
programme of the SSC. Such
insurance provides them and their
family members with social protection
and stability, especially since most of
them are not covered by any social
security legislation in their countries
of residence,
He pointed out that all SSC
branches and agents are ready to
serve and inform Jordanian
expatriates of the stipulated
conditions for voluntary contribution
commitments entitled by virtue of its
insurance.
Mr. Al Razzaz said that the
SSC will soon introduce the mobile
service office called "SSC
Ambassador" which aims at
extending voluntary contributions in
countries where Jordanian
employment is high. lt is anticipated
that the SSC Ambassador will
reduce expenses and facilitate
service, both for the SSC and the
expatriates. Mr. Al Razzaz added
that the SSC Ambassador staff will
include experts and specialists from
the SSC who will apply and
complete procedures of covering
Jordanian expatriates. 74
Source; www. ssc.govjo
month (1 USD = 934.22 KRW)
from national revenue to provide
them with better financial support.
According to the government,
approximately 45 per cent of the
elder population are likely to
receive a fixed old-age pension of
KRW 80,000 per month by 2008.
Currently, persons born before
June 1993 who are in the lowest
income bracket receive KRW
45,000 to 50,000 each month.
At the same time, the
government will establish a
committee that will include experts
and civilgroup members to
discuss possible ways to reform
other state-run pension schemes
which are facing financial
pressures.
The pension reform plans are
currently under discussion. 74
Source; /SSA, Irends in Social
Pension reform
Security, No.4,2006
discussions
undenvay
At the beginning of June 2006,
the Ministry of Health and Welfare
presented a package of measures
to an internal policy making
committee of government to reform
the National Pension in response to
the decline in birth rates, the rise in
life expectancy and the concern that
the National Pension scheme may
run out of funds by 2047 . Some of
the main points of the plan include
the following:
The contribution rate for the
national pension would be
increased from 9 to 12 -13 per cent
of average wage between 2010 and
Employment
support available
to more people,
benefits and
allowances
increase
2020.
The Ministry of Social
Development is extending its
employment and training
assistance to more New
Zealanders under the first phase
of Working New Zealand: WorkFocused Support.
The Working New Zealand:
Work-Focused Support package
The retirement benefit amount
would be decreased from the
current 60 per cent of wages to 40
per cent by 2020.
Low-income elderly people
would be paid KRW 80,000 per
announced by the Government in
October 2006 builds on the
Working for Families initiative's
principle that people are better off
at work.
"We know that most people
ISSA Asia
TO
& Pacific Link
September 2007
COL]NTRY I\EWS
want to work and can with the right
support. At a time when employers
are keen to find suitable workers, we
have the opportunity to improve the
quality of work lives for even more
people by assisting them into more
suitable, sustainable employment,"
said Ms. Liz Jones, Deputy Chief
Executive, Work and lncome. "We
are expanding our employment and
training assistance to all our clients,
including sole parents, people with ill
health and disabled people. This is
an important step towards assisting
people into work, as and when
appropriate,"
ln another development,
benefits, superannuation and student
allowances will increase by 2.63 per
same sex couples in de facto
relationships the same way as
married, civil union and opposite
sex de facto couples when
determining entitlement to benefits
and allowances, 71
Source: MSD News
cent after 01 April. The increase is in
September 2007
with the theme
Ms. de !a Paz
"SSS Kaagapay,
Kaibigan,
Kabalikat Magpakailianman". The
Philippine President, H. E. Ms.
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was the
keynote speaker at the SSS
anniversary programme on 03
September at the SSS Main Office.
The anniversary theme
highlights the multiJaceted role of
SSS: Kaagapay, a partner of
government and enterprises in
line with the cost of living for 2006 as
measured by the Consumer Price
lndex. lncome thresholds for the
community services card will
increase from 01 April in line with
these changes and working for
families increases.
Other increases and changes
include the following:All recipients of
unsupported child's benefit, orphan's
benefit and foster care allowance will
receive an additional NZD10 (1 USD
= 1.44 NZD) per week, per child, in
line with the increases to family
support payments from 01 April.
People receiving New Zealand
superannuation and veteran's
pension will be better off by up to
NZD 684 extra a year if they are
single and by NZD 1,052for married
couples.
There is a 9.8 per cent increase
to the minimum wage, and hourly
rates will go up by a dollar from 01
April. Workers aged under 18 also
get their hourly rate lifted to NZD
an hour.
Also, from 01 April, the Ministry
of Social Development's services,
including work and income, study
link and war pensions, will treat
I
SSS celebrates
50th anniversary
The Social Security System
(SSS) of the
Philippines
celebrated its
50th anniversary
on
01
spurring economic and business
growth; Kaibigan, a friend that every
working Filipino can turn to in times
of need; and Kabalikat, a shoulder
of support for families of members
in realizing their dreams of a better
life.
As of the end of June 2007, the
SSS consolidated assets totaled to
P 247 .9 billion (1 USD = 46.57
PHP) Some P 219.1 billion of this
amount is invested in various
instruments, earning for the SSS an
average of 15.32 per cent return on
investment. Contribution collections
from January to June 2007 reached
P 29.94 billion. For the same
period, SSS paid out a total of
P 28.79 billion in benefits to some
1.63 million members and their
beneficiaries. As of June 2007, the
fund's operating expenses have
reached P 3.1 billion, or 6.68 per
cent of its total revenues. lt now
has 173 branch offices throughout
the Philippines and 15
representative offices abroad.
As of June 2007, the SSS has
a total of 27.69 million members.
This is comprised of employees
(21 .27 million), employers
(796,430), and self-employed and
voluntary members (5.68 million).
The SSS has a total of
1,202,081 Social Security and
Employees' Compensation (EC)
pensioners.
Source: The Philippine Star, 01
September 2007
tl
GSIS marks 70
years of service
The Government Service
lnsurance System (GSIS) marked
its 70th
anniversary on
31 May 2007.
The guest
speaker at the
anniversary
programme
Mr. Garcia
was the Vice
President of the
Philippines, Mr. Nolide Castro
who cited the GSIS as one of the
beslmanaged government
corporations in the country today.
GSIS President and General
Manager Mr. Winston F. Garcia
announced the development of a
new system, the GSIS Voice
Activated Processing System (GV@PS). When implemented, the
G-V@PS will capture the voice
biometrics of GSIS members so
that "members and pensioners
only have to use a telephone or
cellphone and their voice to
ISSA Asia
September 2007
fi
& Pacific Link
COUNTRY NEWS
transact business with GSIS," Mr.
Garcia said. lt is an alternative for
GSIS pensioners, including those
based in the USA, who encounter
difficulties in activating their eCard
Plus using fingerprint biometrics. The
demonstration of this latest GSIS
innovation was one of the
highlights of the anniversary
programme.
GSIS also paid tribute to seven
outstanding member-agencies and
seven public servants who share the
institution's passion for programmes
and projects that enhance the lives of
the public they serve.
The GSIS also launched the
GSIS Awards and Recognition
System (GARS) to recognize
deserving executives and
employees. As in the past, a
Pensioner's Day was organized to
provide free medical check-up,
massage and bingo socials to
pensioners who visited the GSIS
during the anniversary week. 7;
Source: GS/S PublrcAffairs Office
GOSI launches new
offices, short
message seryice,
free trainings,
scholars
The Custodian of the Two Holy
Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz
Al Saud
inaugurated two
new field office
buildings of the
General
Organization for
Social lnsurance
Mr. Al-Humayyd
(GOSI)in the
Northern Border
and Jouf regions. The buildings are
considered as landmarks in the
overall progress of the Kingdom.
The establishment of these two
buildings is in pursuit of the goal of
GOSI to provide its members with
excellent insurance services and
benefits. There are 21 GOSl offices
located in all regions and provinces
of the Kingdom.
Meanwhile, in its efforts to
communicate with all contributors
and beneficiaries, GOSl launched
its Short Message Service (SMS). lt
aims to keep both the contributors
and beneficiaries informed about
the GOS|, including steps and
procedures in contributo/s
registration with GOSl, providing
the conhibution number, the
registered conhibution wage, and
the office where the contributor
works.
ln another development, the
GOSI held five-day free courses for
employees of establishments
registered under the social
insurance scheme in March/April
2007 in the Riyadh, Jeddah, and
Dammam field offices. These
courses explain the social
insurance law, its implementing
regulations, provisions regarding
contributions, and the benefits
provided by the Annuities Branch
and the Occupational Hazards
Branch. To date, GOS| has held
137 courses for 3,698 trainees.
Meanwhile, as part of its long
term strategy to provide qualified
national workers, GOSl is
developing worker skills and
abilities through annual
programmes to attract distinguished
secondary school graduates in
order to send them on scholarship
to Canada for bachelo/s degree in
computer sciences, financing,
marketing, social insurance,
business management and/or
accounting, For this year, a total of
28 scholarships have been
announced. g
Sourcer GOSI, Saudi Arabia
@
It3A.Al33.lVtt
INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL
SECURITY ASSOCIATION
CORAZON S. DE LA PAZ
President
HANS-HORST KONKOLEWSKY
Secretary General
N. PATHMARAJAH-BANNA
Senior Programme Manager
MARIBEL D. ORTIZ
Director, Regional Office for
Asia and the Pacific
ISSAASia & Pacilic Link
EDITORIAL STAFF
EDITOR:
Maribel D. Ortiz
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
lreneo Ma. P. Taala ll
SECRETARY
Karen l. Quieta
fhe
ISSA Asia & Pacifrc
Link is pubfficefor
lished quarterlybythe Regional
Asia and the Pacific, lntemational Social
Security Association (ISSA). Letters
should be addressed to: The Director,
lSSARegional ffi ce forAsia and the Pacific, '11th Floor, SSS MakatiBldg.,Ayala
Avenue cor. V.A. Rufino St., MakatiCity,
Philippines; Tel. No. (632) 813a311;
Fax No. (632) 8134315; E-mail Address:
<issaro@mozcom.@m>. The Regional
ffice invites submissions fom those
wishing to contribute articles, offcial publications, photos, or oher materials. They
may, however, be edited for purposes of
clarity, space oraccuracy of expression.
Copyright @ lntemational Social SecurityAssociation 2006.
First published in June 1997.
Publications of the lntemational Social
Security Associalion enjoy mpyright. Nev-
ertheless, short excerpts ftom them may
be reproduced without authorization for
non-profit purposes on condition thatthe
source is indicated. For rights of reproduction or translation, application should
be made to the lntemational Social SecurityAssociation, Case postale 1, CH 1 211 Geneva 22, SwiEerland.
tssN 1028-2033
ISSN online 1819-2114
Aclcnowledgement
We wish to express our sincerest thanks to the following persons and
organizations whose contributions/articles we have received: Mr. Hamid
Hodjat, General Director, Public Relations and lnternational Affairs
Department, Mr. Kaveh Mehr, Chief, lnternational Communications and
Coordinations Division, Public Relations and lnternational Affairs
Department, and Mr. Mohammad Mansour Azimzadeh, Advisor to the CEO
and General Director, Public Relations and lnternational Department of the
Social Security Organization (lslamic Republic of lran); Ms. Minette Rimando,
Senior Communication and Public lnformation Assistant, Subregional Office
for South-East Asia and the Pacific, lnternational Labour Organization; Mr.
lbrahim Muhanna, Chairman, Board of Trustees, Muhanna Foundation; Ms.
Moppet Varlez, lnformation Officer lV, Corporate Communications Office,
Philippine Health lnsurance Corporation; Ms. Marissu Bugante, Vice
President, PublicAffairs and Special Events Division, and Ms. Sonia Guinto,
Officer-ln-charge, Corporate Communications Department, Social Security
System; Ms. Ella E. Valencerina, Vice President, PublicAffairs Office and Ms.
Amor O. Taccad, Chief Executive Officer ll, PublicAffairs Office, Government
Service lnsurance System (Philippines); Mr. Abdullah Alabduljabar, Director
General, lnsurance lnformation, General Organization for Social lnsurance
(SaudiArabia).
(lf untlclirererl.
plcasc rcturn to :)
INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SECU RITY ASSOCIATION
Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
11th Floor. SSS Makati Bldq., Ayala Ave. cor V. A. Rufino St.
l\4akati City. Philippines
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BTBLTOTHEOUE (BrT) SERVTCE
DES PERIODIQUES
Bureau lnternational du Travail (BlT)
4 route des Morillons
CH-1211 Geneve 22
Switzerland
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