How to File SSS Maternity Benefits and How much will you get?

SSS maternity benefit is one of the benefits of female members of the Philippine Social Security System.

SSS maternity benefit is daily cash allowance that the female member may receive during the days that she is unable to work due to childbirth or miscarriage.

SSS Maternity Benefit is paid to the member only for the first 4 deliveries or miscarriages.

How will you be eligible to receive the SSS Maternity Benefit? 

1. You must have paid at least 3 monthly contributions within the 12-month period immediately preceding the semester of your childbirth or miscarriage. (see computation below)
2. You must have submitted the required notification of your pregnancy. (see requirements below)

These things will be discussed in detail in the following sections.

SSS Maternity Benefit Computation

Most members ask what and how many months are included in the computation for the SSS maternity benefit.

To answer this, the first thing to do is to know the semester of contingency. A semester refers to 2 consecutive quarters in a year which includes the quarter of your estimated delivery month.

For example, if you’re delivery month is January 2018, the semester of contingency includes the last (or 4th) quarter of 2017 and the first quarter of 2018.

The last quarter of 2017 includes the months of October, November, and December. The first quarter of 2018 includes the months of January, February, and March. These 6 months are considered as your “semester of contingency”.

The semester of contingency is to be excluded (or not included) in the computation. What will be included are the 12 months before the semester of contingency.

Therefore, we count 12 months backward from the semester of contingency which includes the months of:

• September 2017
• August 2017
• July 2017
• June 2017
• May 2017
• April 2017
• March 2017
• February 2017
• January 2017
• December 2016
• November 2016
• October 2016

Again, these are the 12 months that will be included in the computation.

The next step it to find out how much you’ve contributed to SSS for these 12 months. To make the computation easier to understand, let’s assume that you paid the maximum/highest contribution for these months which is P1,760 per month.

Then, you have to identify the 6 highest MSC or Monthly Salary Credit. To understand this, let’s take a look at the SSS Contribution Table below.

The first column is the range of compensation which will be the basis of the amount of your monthly contribution to SSS. The second column is the MSC which is the basis when computing for SSS benefits including SSS maternity benefit.

If you paid a P1,760 monthly contribution for the 12 months prior to the semester of contingency, the MSC per month would be P16,000. Then, let’s add the 6 highest MSC:

• P16,000 + P16,000 + P16,000 + P16,000 + P16,000 + P16,000 = P96,000

Then, to get the average daily salary credit, divide the Total MSC by 180 days:

• P96,000 / 180 = P533.33 (Average Daily Salary Credit)

Finally, to get the amount of your SSS maternity benefit, multiply the Average Daily Salary Credit by 60 Days for Normal Delivery or 78 Days for C-Section Delivery.

• Normal Delivery: P533.33 x 60 days = P32,000
• Caesarian Section Delivery: P533.33 x 78 days = P41,600

P32,000 is the maximum SSS maternity benefit that you’ll get if you deliver normally. P41,600 is the maximum benefit if you delivery via C-Section. This is as of December 2017. The MSC and amount of contribution may change in the near future.

Please take note that if your contribution is lower, then your maternity benefit from SSS may be lower as well.

Requirements when Filing SSS Maternity Benefit

It is very important that you notify the SSS office (if you’re a voluntary member) or your employer (if you’re employed) of your pregnancy as soon as you found out that you’re pregnant. You will need to submit the following documents:

• SSS Maternity Notification Form – download here
• Proof of Pregnancy (Ultrasound Result)
• UMID or 2 other valid IDs, both with signature and at least 1 with photo and date of birth

Valid IDs include Passport, PRC Card, and New Postal ID. Secondary IDs include Company ID, Driver’s License, NBI Clearance, and others.

You can also file your Maternity Notification through the SSS website. This is much easier because no documents would be needed.

Requirements when Claiming SSS Maternity Benefit

In order to claim your SSS maternity benefit, you need to submit the following documents:

• Maternity Notification Form duly stamped and received by SSS
• Maternity Reimbursement Form – download here
• UMID or SSS biometrics ID card or two (2) other valid IDs, both with signature and at least one (1) with photo and date of birth

Take note that there is a 10-year prescriptive period to claim the SSS Maternity Benefit provided you have submitted your Maternity Notification Form and Ultrasound Report during your pregnancy.

When to receive your SSS Maternity Benefit

For Employed members –  The benefit is advanced in full by the ER to the qualified female employee within 30 days from the date of filing of the maternity leave application.

For Self-employed and voluntary members –  The benefit is paid directly to them by the SSS thru their single savings/current/cash card/prepaid account in an SSS-accredited bank under the SMB-PTB.

The Expanded Maternity Leave Law

Many of us are hopeful that this law will be finally approved. Even if it was already passed at the Senate early this year, this has yet to be reviewed and approved by the House of Representatives and the President of the Philippines.

Why is this law important and relevant?

The Expanded Maternity Leave Law of 2017 or Senate Bill 1305 states that all covered female workers in government and the private sector, including those in the informal economy, regardless of civil status or the legitimacy of her child, shall be granted 120 days maternity leave with pay and an option to extend for an additional 30 days without pay.

From the current 60 to 78 days of paid maternity leave, it will become 120 days once approved. This would surely make a big difference in the lives of the mothers, children, and their families as a whole.