How to Compute SSS Maternity Benefit with Examples

The SSS Maternity Benefit is one of the many benefits that a female SSS member can avail of. This benefit is not a loan but a cash benefit that you will receive from the Social Security System.

How would you know the amount that you will receive from SSS?

Basically, the higher your SSS contributions are, the higher the amount you’ll receive from your SSS Maternity Benefit.

• READ: 105 Paid Maternity Leave Days Approved!

Before I show you the actual computation and sample scenarios, let me explain to you first the terms that we will use to understand the computation better.

Semester of Contingency

It refers to 2 consecutive quarters that include the month of the estimated delivery date of the pregnant SSS member and the quarter before that. And since there are 3 months per quarter, the semester of contingency includes 6 months in total.

• To understand this further, below are the months per quarter:
  • 1st Quarter of the Year – January, February, March
  • 2nd Quarter of the Year – April, May, June
  • 3rd Quarter of the Year – July, August, September
  • 4th Quarter of the Year – October, November, December
• For example, if the estimated delivery date is March 2018, the semester of contingency include the first quarter and the previous 4th quarter of the year including the months of March 2018, February 2018, January 2018, December 2017, November 2017, and October 2017.
• The counting of the semester of contingency is backward.

Monthly Salary Credit (MSC)

It refers to the compensation base for contributions and benefits related to the total earnings for the month. It is the corresponding salary credit based on the declared salary or compensation of the member. Below is the latest SSS Table of Contribution 2017 and you will see the MSC on the second column.

To know how much you’re supposed to pay for your contribution, look at the first column to know where your salary falls under. For example, if your salary is P10,000 per month, you’re supposed to pay P1,100 (see the last column) for your monthly SSS contribution.

• Now going back to the Monthly Salary Credit or MSC, for example, if your declared monthly income is P10,000, it falls under the range of compensation P9,750-P10,249.99 and the MSC for this is P10,000.
• Another example, if you’re employed and your monthly salary is P20,000, your MSC is P16,000.
• Another example, if you’re self-employed and your monthly income is P4,800, your MSC is P5,000.
• It’s important to know the MSC in the SSS Table of Contribution because it will be used in the computation of your SSS Maternity Benefit.

How to Compute SSS Maternity Benefit

In order to illustrate the computation better, we will have 3 different scenarios and we will compute the SSS Maternity Benefit that each member will get if she qualifies.

So, who qualifies to avail of the SSS Maternity Benefit?

• A female SSS member who has paid at least 3 monthly contributions within the 12-month period prior to the semester of contingency
• A female SSS member who has submitted the Maternity Notification and Proof of Pregnancy before childbirth or miscarriage.
  • Remember, that failure to submit these documents can disqualify you to avail of your SSS Maternity Benefit.

Now let’s take a look at these scenarios and we’ll do the actual computations.

Scenario 1

Melody is an employed SSS member who earns a monthly salary of P17,000. Her employer remits P1,760 to SSS for her SSS monthly contributions. Melody started working in June 2016 after she graduated college and she is now pregnant and is expecting to deliver her child on October 30, 2017. How much can she possibly get from her SSS Maternity Benefit?

• Estimated Delivery Date: October 30, 2017
• Exclude the Semester of Contingency: July 2017, August 2017, September 2017, October 2017, November 2017, December 2017
• Her SSS Monthly Contributions and corresponding Monthly Salary Credit (MSC) during the 12 months prior to the Semester of Contingency:
  • 1. June 2017 – P1,760 – P16,000
  • 2. May 2017 – P1,760 – P16,000
  • 3. April 2017 – P1,760 – P16,000
  • 4. March 2017 – P1,760 – P16,000
  • 5. February 2017 – P1,760 – P16,000
  • 6. January 2017 – P1,760 – P16,000
  • 7. December 2016 – P1,760 – P16,000
  • 8. November 2016 – P1,760 – P16,000
  • 9. October  2016 – P1,760 – P16,000
  • 10. September 2016 – P1,760 – P16,000
  • 11. August 2016 – P1,760 – P16,000
  • 12. July 2016 – P1,760 – P16,000
• Add the 6 highest MSC from her contributions above
  • P16,000 +
  • P16,000 +
  • P16,000 +
  • P16,000 +
  • P16,000 +
  • P16,000 +
  • Total MSC = P96,000
• Total MSC divided by 180 days
  • P96,000 / 180 = P533.33 (Average Daily Salary Credit)
• Multiply Daily Salary Credit by 60 Days for Normal Delivery or 78 Days if Caesarian Section Delivery
  • Normal Delivery: P533.33 x 60 days = P32,000
  • Caesarian Section Delivery: P533.33 x 78 days = P41,600

Therefore, Melody will get P32,000 if she delivers her baby normally or P41,600 if she delivers via CS.

Scenario 2

Angela is a self-employed SSS member who makes P5,000 per month. She only started paying P550 for her SSS contribution in January 2017. She is pregnant and her estimated delivery date is on September 25, 2017. How much can she possibly get from her SSS Maternity Benefit?

• Estimated Delivery Date: September 25, 2017
• Exclude the Semester of Contingency: April 2017, May 2017, June 2017, July 2017, August 2017, September 2017
• Her SSS Monthly Contributions and corresponding Monthly Salary Credit (MSC) during the 12 months prior to the Semester of Contingency:
  • 1. March 2017 – P550 – P5,000
  • 2. February 2017 – P550 – P5,000
  • 3. January 2017 – P550 – P5,000
  • 4. December 2016 – P0 – P0
  • 5. November 2016 – P0 – P0
  • 6. October  2016 – P0 – P0
  • 7. September 2016 – P0 – P0
  • 8. August 2016 – P0 – P0
  • 9. July 2016 – P0 – P0
  • 10. June 2016 – P0 – P0
  • 11. May 2016 – P0 – P0
  • 12. April 2016 – P0 – P0
• Add the 6 highest MSC from her contributions above
  • P5,000 +
  • P5,000 +
  • P5,000 +
  • P0 +
  • P0 +
  • P0 +
  • Total MSC = P15,000
• Total MSC divided by 180 days
  • P15,000 / 180 = P83.33 (Average Daily Salary Credit)
• Multiply Daily Salary Credit by 60 Days for Normal Delivery or 78 Days if Caesarian Section Delivery
  • Normal Delivery: P83.33 x 60 days = P5,000
  • Caesarian Section Delivery: P83.33 x 78 days = P6,500

Therefore, Angela will get P5,000 if she delivers her baby normally or P6,500 if she delivers via CS.

Scenario 3

Nicole is a voluntary SSS member. She used to work as an Admin Assistant in a university earning P15,000 per month paying P1,650 monthly contribution to SSS since January 2016. She resigned in March 2016 when she learned that she was pregnant. She submitted all the required documents directly to SSS about her pregnancy but she totally forgot to pay her SSS contributions since she resigned. Thus, she has no contributions from April 2017 until today. She’s expecting to deliver her child by the end of August 2017. She’s wondering how much can she possibly get from her SSS Maternity Benefit knowing that she missed 5 months of her contributions. 

• Estimated Delivery Date: August 30, 2017
• Exclude the Semester of Contingency: April 2017, May 2017, June 2017, July 2017, August 2017, September 2017
• Her SSS Monthly Contributions and corresponding Monthly Salary Credit (MSC) during the 12 months prior to the Semester of Contingency:
  • 1. March 2017 – P1,650 – P15,000
  • 2. February 2017 – P1,650 – P15,000
  • 3. January 2017 – P1,650 – P15,000
  • 4. December 2016 – P1,650 – P15,000
  • 5. November 2016 – P1,650 – P15,000
  • 6. October  2016 – P1,650 – P15,000
  • 7. September 2016 – P1,650 – P15,000
  • 8. August 2016 – P1,650 – P15,000
  • 9. July 2016 – P1,650 – P15,000
  • 10. June 2016 – P1,650 – P15,000
  • 11. May 2016 – P1,650 – P15,000
  • 12. April 2016 – P1,650 – P15,000
• Add the 6 highest MSC from her contributions above
  • P15,000 +
  • P15,000 +
  • P15,000 +
  • P15,000 +
  • P15,000 +
  • P15,000 +
  • Total MSC = P90,000
• Total MSC divided by 180 days
  • P90,000 / 180 = P500 (Average Daily Salary Credit)
• Multiply Daily Salary Credit by 60 Days for Normal Delivery or 78 Days if Caesarian Section Delivery
  • Normal Delivery: P500 x 60 days = P30,000
  • Caesarian Section Delivery: P500 x 78 days = P39,000

Therefore, even if Nicole missed to pay her SSS Contributions in the last 5 months, she will still get P30,000 if she delivers her baby normally or P39,000 if she delivers via CS.

Things to Remember when availing of the SSS Maternity Benefit

1. It’s very important that you notify your employer (if you’re employed) or SSS directly (if you’re unemployed, self-employed, or voluntary member) about your pregnancy at least 60 days upon conception. Failure to notify SSS can be ground for disqualification of your SSS maternity benefits. You should submit the following documents:

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

2. To claim your SSS Maternity Benefit, you need to submit the following documents to your employer if employed, or to SSS directly if not.

• Maternity Notification Form duly stamped and received by SSS
• Maternity Reimbursement Form
• 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

Employed member will get the advance payment of their SSS Maternity Benefit from their employer within 30 days after submitting their application.

Self-employed and voluntary members, on the other hand, will receive their maternity benefit 1-2 months after their delivery.

3. The SSS Maternity Benefit is only applicable to 4 deliveries or miscarriages.

4. 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.

Can I avail of the Expanded Maternity Leave Law? 

This bill has been signed in the Senate on March 6, 2017, but it has yet to be signed by the House of Representatives and President Duterte. Therefore, you cannot avail of the proposed 120 days leave yet. Let’s hope it will be signed soon so we can enjoy the benefits of this law.

Read our previous article to know more about SSS Maternity Benefit Application.