SSS maternity benefits hit P53 B

Maternity benefits extended by state-run pension fund Social Security System (SSS) reached P53.27 billion since 2016.

In a statement, SSS said it has released the cumulative maternity benefit from 2016 to 2021 to 1.91 million members.

SSS president and CEO Michael Regino said a significant increase in the disbursement started in 2019 with the implementation of the 105-day Expanded Maternity Leave Law.

Highest peak of releases was recorded last year amounting to P13.9 billion.

Regino said the agency has recalibrated and simplified the application procedures through online submission of maternity benefit applications for members and reimbursement for employers.

This is being done via the My.SSS Portal which started in May of last year.

“With the law, the increased amount of maternity benefit and number of maternity leave assisted our female members with their financial needs, providing extra time to recover from childbirth, and most importantly, to spend quality time with their newborn babies,” Regino said.

Under the law, the maternity leave was extended from 60 days for normal delivery and 78 days for caesarean section delivery to 105 days.

SSS members may avail of the benefit, regardless of the frequency, provided that the minimum of three qualifying contributions from the 12-month period prior the semester of childbirth or miscarriage or emergency termination of pregnancy (ETP) has been met and were not paid on or after the semester of contingency.

SSS digitalization initiatives were all fast tracked at the height of the pandemic in 2020. Last year, 75 percent of transactions were done through various electronic and online channels.

Apart from maternity benefits, these include online filing of retirement benefit for particular retirees; unemployment insurance benefit; sickness benefit and funeral benefit for member-claimants.

The salary and calamity loan applications and the renewal of pension loans are now also done online.