A computer glitch has essentially wiped out five year’s worth of contributions of hundreds and thousands of Social Security System (SSS) members, according to a report of ABS-CBN. The glitch, which primarily affected the contributions of members starting from 1985 to 1989, was apparently the result of the SSS’ efforts to digitize their extensive records.

This is a big problem for pensioners and retirees, since the pension that they receive from the agency is completely dependent on their contribution on their SSS account while they were still active in the work force.

For its part the SSS says it knows about the problem, and has taken steps to correct it. The agency has said that it’s managed to disburse around Php 7.2 billion worth of back payments to 154,357 retirees affected by the problem.

“We’re doing it already, whether you request or not there are pensioners who have been receiving payments since the middle of June this year, because we started paying,” said Susie Bugante, spokesperson for the SSS. The SSS expects to fully fix the problem by the middle of 2017.

If you think you’re one of those retirees that should be entitled to higher montly pension, you’re advised to contact the SSS via email at [email protected], or through their phone hotline 920 6446 – 55.