SSS Membership: How to be a Member of SSS

After learning about the different benefits that come with being an SSS member, you now decided to acquire membership and become an official member of the Social Security System.

But how?  Worry no more, because in this article you will learn about the important details of SSS membership.

Such details like the requirements, conditions and application process are going to be discussed.

This will essentially be helpful so you don’t get lost on your way to becoming a member.

Once you are a member, you will feel socially secured with SSS, knowing that you are entitled to such benefits and advantages whenever emergency befalls you.

It will not only you but also your close relatives of the family, like your children will also be entitled as secondary beneficiaries.

Who are qualified to be SSS members?

The first question to be asked is if you are qualified to join. And the requirements are fairly simple.

If you fulfill the one requirement below, you may proceed to learning about the coverage of the SSS program.

1. You are a worker in the private sector, self-employed, a voluntary member or an Overseas Filipino Worker.

What are the two types of coverage in the SSS program?

The two types are:

1. Compulsory Coverage

The people who fall under this coverage are:

• Employers
• Employees
• Self-Employed Persons

2. Voluntary Coverage

The people who fall under this coverage are:

• Separated Members
• Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs)
• Non-working spouse of SSS members

Employers

You are considered an employer if: you are a person who uses the service of another person in business, trade, industry or any undertaking.

You may register as an employer under the SSS by filling out the SSS Employer Registration Form and submitting it to the nearest SSS office near you. Of course, different forms are required for different circumstances such as partnerships, corporations, stock holders, etc.

The effectiveness of coverage as an employer member starts on the first day that you hire your employee. The employer is given 30 days from the date of employment to report to the SSS about the employment taking place.

Employees

You may avail the coverage as an employee if you are:

• A private sector employee, whether permanent, temporary, or provisional who is not over 60 years old
• A household helper earning at least P1,000 a month (A household helper is anyone who provides service to a household employer like a maid, gardener, driver, etc.)
• A Filipino seafarer upon actual deployment by the manning agency which, together with the foreign ship owner, act as employers.
• An employee of a foreign government, international organization or their wholly-owned instrumentality based in the Philippines, which entered into an administrative agreement with the SSS for the coverage of its Filipino workers.

To apply for this coverage, you need to submit your Personal Record (SS Form E-1) to the nearest SSS branch near you accompanied by necessary documents.

Self-Employed Persons

You are considered self-employed if you are, earning at least P1,000 a month, regardless of trade, business or occupation, and you are not over 60 years old. The following list gives wide inclusions of self-employed people but in by no means, should be the limitations.

• self-employed professionals;
• partners, single proprietors of businesses and board directors of corporations duly registered with appropriate government agencies;
• actors, actresses, directors, scriptwriters and news correspondents who do not fall within the definition of the term “employee;”
• professional athletes, coaches, trainers and jockeys;
• farmers and fisherfolks; and
• workers in the informal sector such as market and ambulant vendors, public utility transport drivers, tourism industry-related workers, and others similarly situated.

To apply, you must first fill out and submit the Self-Employed Data Record Form. If you don’t have an existing SS number, you should submit this form with the original/certified true copy and photocopy of any primary or two (2) of the secondary documents acceptable in securing an SS number.

If you are self-employed and you have an employer, you must also accomplish the Employer Registration Form and Employment Form.

Separated Members

You are considered a separated member and you may apply for a coverage as a separated member if you meet both of the following conditions:

• You are separated from employment or ceased to be employed
• You have been previously an employed SSS member, anyone who has no previous SSS recordings who starts paying monthly contributions are not considered a member and those monthly contributions will be returned duly.

If you may continue being a member using the previous SS number by the Contributions Payment Return Form.

Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs)

You may avail coverage as an OFW if you are: A Filipino recruited in the Philippines by a foreign-based employer for employment abroad; having a source of income in a foreign country; and permanent resident in a foreign country.

If you have a previous SS number, you can continue paying monthly contributions using that number through the SS Form RS-5. Make sure that you tick the “OFW” box. This will then change your status to OFW.

If you don’t own an SS number, you will start by filling out the Overseas Worker Record Form first and any original and photocopy of the secondary documents acceptable in securing an SS number.

Non-Working Spouse of SSS Member

You may avail coverage as a non-working spouse of an SSS member if you are:

• A person legally married to a currently employed and actively paying SSS member who devotes full time in the management of household and family affairs may be covered on a voluntary basis as a Non-Working Spouse, provided there is the approval of the working spouse.

You must never been a member of the SSS and your contributions shall be based on 50 percent of your spouse’s monthly salary credit, but should not be lower than P1,000.

You may file a form through the Non-Working Spouse Record Form, signed by your spouse with a copy of the official marriage certificate.

There is no risk being an SSS member. If anything, it is a benefit that could all help us if we know how to follow the rules and be a carry out duties and responsibilities.

What are you waiting for? Be an SSS member now!