We all have a fantasy of a prosperous retirement based on our regular monthly income, which is mostly earned from job. With a perceived danger to their job security, employees throughout the world scrutinize management actions for cost minimization, productivity enhancement, and automation.
Even though an individual employee has little control over macroeconomic factors like inflation, authorities have been able to effectively manage them and safeguard employment until recently.
However, the pandemic COVID-19 wreaked havoc on the whole planet, causing enormous and unanticipated problems.
To preserve lives, governments have to proclaim lockdowns or limitations. Many firms were forced to close due to poor client demand, leaving their employees jobless for an unknown amount of time.
It put the governments in a difficult position. Despite their diminished earnings, they must continue to spend vast sums from the public coffers to equip the health system to tackle the deadly illness. People’s livelihoods, on the other hand, are seriously impacted.
Governments all across the world are attempting to help their citizens get through this difficult time by giving various forms of support and financial aid.
The Philippines government has taken such an initiative with the Social Security Act of 2018, which gives unemployment insurance and involuntary separation compensation to SSS members.
About SSS Unemployment Benefits Program
Employees in the private sector, home servants or kasambahays, self-employed people, and Overseas Filipino Workers are all at danger of losing their jobs at any moment. In 1957, the government established the Social Security System (SSS) to provide people with some financial security.
Employees, employers, and self-employed people must all register with the SSS, according to the legislation. Each member is required to contribute a monthly amount based on his or her monthly income.
As long as the employee is employed, the employer is obligated to pay a share of the employee’s SSS contribution.
Through the provision of different benefits and loans, the SSS protects members and their families from the financial constraints of disability, sickness, retirement, maternity leave, death, funerals, and unemployment.
SSS Unemployment Insurance, also known as Involuntary Separation Reward, is a financial benefit given to SSS members who have been unwillingly separated from their jobs since March 5, 2019.
The unemployment benefit is a one-time payment equal to 50% of the monthly wage for a maximum of two months.
For example, if you earn PHP 18,000 per month, your entire unemployment benefit will be:
18,000×50%x2 = PHP 18,000.
To be eligible for the payment, the member must file a claim for SSS Unemployment Benefits in 2021 within one year after separation.
This is not a debt; it is a benefit. As a result, if you have an existing SSS debt, it will not affect your eligibility for jobless SSS benefits.
Limitations of unemployment benefits in 2021:
- A member is only eligible for unemployment benefits once every three years.
- Assume you are qualified for two or more contingency benefits in the same time frame. Only the greatest benefit will be approved in this scenario.
- In the event of overlapping benefits, legal issues, fraud, misrepresentation, or false claims, the money will be recovered from the member’s future benefits.
- The highest unemployment benefit a member can get is PHP 20,000.
For SSS unemployment insurance alone, the SSS has put up a corpus fund of PHP 660 million.
Even in the “worst case scenario,” when all of the SSS’s approximately 60,000 premium-paying members apply for maximum unemployment benefits, the SSS remains confident in its financial reserves.
How to Apply for SSS Unemployment Benefit Online
Prior to the epidemic, Filipinos used to do all of their SSS-related business at neighboring SSS branches.
Neither the branches nor the transportation facilities are now guaranteed to be available at all times. Furthermore, crowding in the SSS office increases the danger of illness.
As a result, the SSS branch’s functionality has been moved to online mode. The methods for submitting an online application for SSS unemployment benefits are outlined below.
- Log in as a “Member” to your My.SSS account.
- Next, select the “E-services” button and then “Apply for Unemployment Benefit.”
- Fill out the online filing form with all of the necessary information.
- Verify information such as postal address, phone number, email address, bank account information, employment category, separation date, and employer. Make certain that all of the information is correct and comprehensive.
- Review the credentials and then click “Submit.”
- Wait for the email message regarding the unemployment benefit claim application after that.
- Respond to the email with scanned photos of any required papers, such as a DOLE or POLO certification.
- You may also be required to provide other information, such as your employer’s “Notice of Termination” or “Affidavit of Termination from Employment.”
- After that, SSS will send you an email acknowledging receipt of your application.
- You can verify the progress of your application by sending an email to member relations@sss.gov.ph with your SSS number and application reference number in the subject line.
- The processing time for unemployment benefits is usually between 5 and 10 working days.
- After your application is granted, SSS will send the funds to you via the channels you specify, such as your UMID-ATM card, digital wallets, or remittance transfer businesses.
SSS Unemployment Benefits Requirements
Below are the SSS financial assistance requirements to avail of the unemployment benefit.
1. The age limit for the member at the time of separation is as follows:
| Employment Type | Age ( Years) |
| Regular members | 60 |
| Underground or surface mine worker | 50 |
| Racehorse jockey | 55 |
- A paid contribution of at least 36 months is required. Twelve months of payments should be made during the 18 months before the month of involuntary separation.
- The member has not received unemployment compensation in the previous three years.
- The involuntary separation should be due to legitimate reasons like as redundancy, the installation of labor-saving technology, downsizing, the company’s closure, disaster, recession, and so on.
SSS should only recognize a certificate of separation from employment if the involuntary separation was caused by no fault of the employees.
Even so, assume an employee departs owing to violations of the Philippine Labor Code, such as insult, mental torture, cruel treatment, and so on. He or she is eligible for the benefit in such scenario.
Documentary Requirements
- The applicant must provide an original copy as well as a photocopy of at least one of the valid main identification cards.
- If no main ID is available, the applicant must submit an original and photocopy of any two ID cards or papers, both of which must have signatures and at least one of which must include a photo.
- A certification from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) stating the type and date of the involuntary separation.
- Affidavit of termination of employment or notice of termination of employment.
- Information on UMID cards that have been enrolled as ATMs, UBP Quick Cards, or SSS-enrolled bank accounts.
Who Are NOT Qualified to Get SSS Unemployment Benefits in 2021
Contract workers, voluntary members, and those who leave from their jobs are not eligible for the compensation because it is exclusively for involuntarily separated personnel.
If the termination was due to disciplinary action or performance difficulties, such as significant misbehavior, intentional disobedience, inefficiency, fraud, and so on, the employee is ineligible for unemployment benefits.
If an employee sues for wrongful termination, the benefit approval will be contingent on the outcome of the lawsuit.
SSS Loan for Unemployed Member
Even if a member is unemployed, the unemployment benefit does not prevent him from obtaining a loan from SSS.
Because voluntary members are not entitled for unemployment benefits, they can borrow money from their SSS contributions.
For an unemployed loan, the SSS criteria might differ. For a member with 36 reported contributions, the SSS salary loan provides a loan of up to one month’s income. Six of the contributions should be from the previous year.
Maternity benefit pays a daily cash payment to female members who are unable to work due to delivery, miscarriage, or an emergency pregnancy termination.
The benefit is available to any female member who has paid at least three contributions in the 12 months before the semester of her births, miscarriage, or termination of pregnancy.
In the event of employed members, the pregnancy must be reported to SSS by the employer.
The member must meet the SSS maternity standards for the jobless in order to receive SSS maternity benefits. They must submit the maternity notice form, proof of pregnancy, and other claim papers to the SSS portal for Claim SSS Unemployment Benefits in order to do so.
A catastrophe creates fresh chances and shifts people’s perspectives dramatically. The shift, however, will not be immediate. Banks and traditional lenders will continue to follow traditional banking and lending practices for some time.
With its commercial acumen and technology advancements, CashPautang empowers Filipinos to dream big and achieve their goals, even in the face of pandemics. You now understand how to apply for SSS unemployment benefits.
