How to Know if I am Eligible for SSS Maternity Benefit?
You are Eligible for the SSS Maternity Benefit if you have paid at least 3 monthly contributions within the 12 months immediately BEFORE your Semester of Delivery/Contingency (childbirth or miscarriage).
Common Misconceptions on the Eligibility on SSS Maternity Benefit
Many were confused that they only need to have atleast 3 months of contribution before they give birth to qualify for the SSS Benefit, but that is wrong.
Having an SSS Contribution from prior years does not guarantee you that you will be entitled to an SSS Maternity Benefit
The qualification on the paid SSS monthly contribution is tricky, especially for those that are paying voluntarily. So allow us to explain how to be qualified for an SSS Maternity benefit.
To know if you are qualified:
Identify your Delivery Month. Consult your doctor to know your expected delivery month. Or you may estimate by adding 9 months from the date of your conception. Let us assume that your Expected Delivery Month is December 2018, we will use this on our example.
Identify the Quarter of your Delivery Month. Then based on your expected delivery month, identify the quarter where it will fall. If you are still confused on how to identify which quarter your month of delivery falls, here is a table of Quartering being observed by the SSS.
Quarter Months Covered
Quarter 1 January – March
Quarter 2 April – June
Quarter 3 July – September
Quarter 4 October – December
On our example, if your expected month of delivery is December 2018, then it falls on the 4th quarter of the year.
Identify the Semester of Contigency. After knowing the Quarter of your Delivery month, now let us identify the Semester where your delivery month falls. A semester refers to a two consecutive Quarters. To identify the semester of your Delivery Month, add one quarter prior to the quarter of your delivery month.
Semester Quarters Covered
Semester A Quarter 1 and 2
Semester B Quarter 2 and 3
Semester C Quarter 3 and 4
Semester D Quarter 4 and 1
So in our example, December 2018 falls on the 4th quarter of the year. The Quarter before that is the third Quarter (July 2018). The 3rd and 4th quarter or the July-December 2018 is your Semester of Contingency.
Let’s take another example. Your Expected Delivery Month is July 2018 and it falls under the third quarter (July-September) of the year. The quarter before that is the second quarter (April-June). The second and third quarter of 2018 or the April – September is your Semester of Contingency.
Check your Contributions posted if you have at least 3 months within 12 months prior to your Semester of Contigency. Now that you know your Semester of Contingency, you should have at least 3 months contribution within the 12 month period BEFORE your Semester of Contingency.
For our Example No 1.
Expected Month of Delivery is December 2018.
Semester of Contingency is July-December 2018.
12 Month Period prior to Semester of Contingency: July 2017-June 2018.
From July 2017-June 2018, the SSS member should have at least 3 months contribution posted to qualify for the SSS Maternity Benefit.
For our Example No 2.
Expected Month of Delivery is July 2018.
Semester of Contingency is April-September 2018.
12 Month Period prior to Semester of Contingency: April 2017 – March 2018.
From April 2017 – March 2018, the SSS Member should have at least 3 months contribution to qualify for the SSS Maternity Benefit.
Now that you already know the contribution eligibility to be qualified for the SSS Maternity Benefit, you may check your posted contributions online. If can still cope up for your Contributions by paying quarterly payment (as a Voluntary Member) or paying for the whole year contribution (if you are an OFW member), then do so. You may check the SSS Contributions Schedule and Deadline of payment thru this link. If you are Employed and you found out that your Contributions are not completely posted, go directly to the Payroll officer of your company to know the status of your contribution remittance.
Sumi