SSS Pension Plan or SSS Retirement Benefit

Investment is a very important tool for everybody.

People might think that starting early is not the best idea since many are at the receiving end of the lower income bracket.

• READ: 13th Month Pension ng SSS ngayong 2018, sino nga ba ang makakatanggap?

But the trick here is to start at the earliest possible time.

There are many options available to a person looking to invest, like the stock market, different types of insurance, and most especially, the SSS pension plan.

 

The SSS Pension Plan or SSS Retirement Benefit is available to anybody who is sixty years old and up.

It’s basically an amount paid monthly or via a lump sum to SSS members who can’t take jobs anymore due to old age.

Going into detail, the computations of the pension is based on a member’s total contributions before reaching the age of sixty (60) and the amount of each contribution made.

The averaging is done from the date of coverage, or from the average contributions during the last five (5) years (whichever translates to a higher sum).

 

2 TYPES OF SSS RETIREMENT BENEFIT

MONTHLY PENSION

The first is through monthly pension, which is technically a cash benefit that spans the retiree’s lifetime, upon the condition that the member has contributed for at least one hundred and twenty (120) months to the SSS before the semester of retirement.

LUMP SUM

The second is via a lump sum amount which is granted to retirees who haven’t paid the one hundred and twenty months total of contributions. The lump sum is tantamount to the total number of payments made by the member along with the employer, including interest.

 

HOW TO COMPUTE FOR SSS PENSION PLAN OR SSS RETIREMENT BENEFIT

The monthly pension is based on a number of factors which are listed below.

• Member’s contributions
• Credited years of service (CYS)
• Number of dependent minor children (must not exceed five)

 

These factors come together for the computation of the highest amount resulting from one of the three pension formulas used by the SSS

• (Php 300) + (20% of the member’s average monthly salary) + (2% of the average monthly salary credit for each year of credited service in excess of 10 years)
• 40% of the average monthly salary credit
• Php 1200.00 (if the CYS is at least 10 but less than 20) or Php 2400.00 (if the CYS is 20 or more)

The monthly contributions need to come up to a total of sixty (60) months, no less.

 

However, members aged sixty (60) and up who have a total of one hundred and twenty (120) contributions paid could be qualified to a monthly pension based on the list below

• The monthly pension computed during the earliest time that enabled the member to retire had been removed from employment or ceased to be self-employed plus all adjustments to that
• The monthly pension computed during the time the member retires.

 

Then there are people who retire more than once. For them, it’s either one of two things. Either the monthly pension is computed for the first retirement claim, or themonthly pension is computed again, monthly, for the newest claim (whichever comes up with the higher amount).

 

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS FOR DEPENDENTS

On dependent’s, the allowances are given to eligible children of the retiree. Given that they are

1) legitimate, legitimated, legally adopted, or illegitimate children who were conceived on or before the date of a member’s retirement will each receive the allocated dependent’s allowance.

This is equivalent to ten (10) percent of the retiree’s pension monthly or Php 250.00, whichever is the higher amount,

2) only five minor children (count starts at the youngest) will receive the allowance which non-transferable,

3) on the case of more than five eligible dependents, priority goes to the legitimate, legitimated, or legally adopted children.

This benefit stops when the dependent reaches twenty-one (21) years of age, marries, becomes employed, or dies.

An exception is when a child is incapacitated or invalid, unable to support themselves due to physical or mental defects, acquired during minority; on this count, children will be entitled to a lifetime extension of this allowance.

 

WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS IN APPLYING FOR SSS RETIREMENT BENEFIT?

1. 1. Retirement Claim Application (Click HERE to download the form)
   2. DDR Signature Card / Specimen Signature Card (Click HERE to download)
   3. DDR Savings Account form
   4. Certificate of Separation from last employer (This is if the member is less than 65 years old)
   5. Passbook or ATM Card (if pension) A member must open a single savings account in the bank of his choice and submit to the SSS his savings account number and a photocopy of his passbook or ATM Card upon filing of his application. The original copy of the passbook must be presented for authentication purposes. (Source)

 

1. Certified true copies of birth or baptismal certificate of dependent children
2. Certified of cessation of business or practice of profession (for self-employed members who are less than 65 years old)
3. Certified true copy of marriage certificate (if married)
4. Proofs of filiation for illegitimate dependent children
5. UMID or SSS biometrics ID card or 2 other valid IDs, both with signature and at least 1 with photo and date of birth.

HOW TO FILE FOR RETIREMENT BENEFIT?

You need to go to the SSS branch to file for your Retirement Claim. 

You may also watch this video for the instructions on how to apply for SSS Retirement benefit.

 

WHEN TO RECEIVE THE SSS PENSION PLAN OR RETIREMENT BENEFIT PAYMENT

The retiree may opt to receive a lump sum of eighteen (18) months in total with a discounted preferential interest rate (determined by the SSS).

In this case, the member will receive the succeeding monthly pension payment on the nineteenth (19^th) month after receipt of the lump sum, then every month thenceforth.

This option will only be available when filing for the first ever retirement claim.

Only this advanced pension payment is discounted on the payment date.

Excluded from the discounts are the 13^th month pension and the dependent’s allowance.

The monthly contributions are paid through the member’s designated bank through which he or she chooses to receive his pension benefits.

This is mandatory and took effect during the 1^st of September, 1993. Upon claim approval, the SSS will inform the member of when the benefits will become available.

 

WHAT ARE THE OTHER RETIREMENT BENEFITS

Retirees are privileged to a 13^th month pension pay during December every year as part of the pension plan.

All retired members receiving pension prior to the 4^th of March, 1995 (the effectivity date of RA 7875 or the National Health Insurance Act), are automatically considered members of PhilHealth. This includes their legal dependents, who, by the act are entitled to the hospitalization benefits granted by PhilHealth.

In contrast to this, retirees who filed for pension during and after the 4^th of March, 1995 will only be entitled to PhilHealth benefits if they have contributed for a total of one hundred and twenty (120) payments. Contribution counts start in 1972, during which the Medical Care Act of 1969 was implemented.

 

One hundred percent of the monthly pension is transferred to the primary beneficiaries upon the death of the retiree, as well as the dependent’s allowance for the dependents.

If the pension dies within sixty (60) months from the start of the monthly pension’s roll-out and is without primary beneficiaries, the secondary beneficiaries are eligible to receive a lump sum that corresponds to the balance of the guaranteed pension period which is five years in total.

This excludes dependent’s allowance.

If in case a retiree less than sixty-five years of age resumes work or chooses to become self-employed, monthly pensions halt, and the member will be subjected to compulsory coverage.

If, however, he is sixty-five (65) years and above, he will not be withheld his monthly pension, and will not be subjected to compulsory coverage.

 

SSS PENSION PLAN / RETIREMENT BENEFITS: FAQs

Q: My father applied and received a Salary Loan from SSS during his employment. But his company closed down, and since then he hasn’t been able to pay his contributions, although he has paid for a total of twenty (20) years. Does this remove his eligibility to apply for his retirement pension?

 

A: Anyone who is aged sixty (60) years old who has retired or sixty-five (65) years old who is employed or self-employed or otherwise may submit an application for retirement benefits.

There are different ways they can choose to receive their pension, which is either monthly or through a lump sum. The conditions are listed above. However, on the case of continuing contributions even after employment, please see information listed below:

• A member who is sixty (60) years old and above but not yet sixty-five (65) who has a total of one hundred and twenty (120) contributions or more may continue payments as a voluntary member up to sixty-five (65) years old to avail of the full benefit.
• A member who is sixty-five (65) years old and above with less than one hundred and twenty (120) contributions may continue with payments as a voluntary member until he completes a total of one hundred and twenty payments.

For more detailed information, please follow the links below.

https://www.sss.gov.ph/sss/appmanager/pages.jsp

 

For further assistance and record verification, you may dial SSS toll free Call Center Hotlines 920-6446 to 55 and 1-800-10-2255777, this is available 24 hours, Mondays through Fridays. You may also send an email to the Member Relations Department regarding your query (member_relations@sss.gov.ph, including the complete name of the member concerned, with the ten digit SS number for reference. Also include a scanned copy or photo of the member’s valid IDs with the subject: Thru Facebook.

In the event that the contributions are enough (a total of one hundred and twenty), a member may still opt to pay monthly voluntarily. Just fill out a Contributions Payment form, and mark the membership type, including the amount of contributions you decide to cover. You can pay in your designated SSS branch, accredited commercial banks, Bayad Center, SM Payment Centers, and SSS branches with tellering sections.

(See links: https://www.sss.gov.ph/sss/DownloadContent?fileName=Contributions_Payment_Form.pdf

https://www.sss.gov.ph/sss/appmanager/pages.jsp?page=scheduleofcontribution)

 

Q: Am I allowed to continue contributions with SSS even if I’m a member of GSIS?

In the case of existing contributions in your SSS records and you have an intention of continuing contributions as a voluntary member, it is advised that you go to the nearest SSS branch and fill out a Contributions Payment Form. Mark the membership type, including the contributions that you are targeting to pay.

(Form and links found here: https://www.sss.gov.ph/sss/DownloadContent)

Additionally, if you are below fifty-five (55) years of age, you may choose to increase or decrease your salary bracket without limitation in terms of frequency. If, however, you are fifty-five years old and up, you may only alter your salary bracket once in a calendar year.

For more information, please follow this link.

https://www.sss.gov.ph/sss/appmanager/pages.jsp?page=scheduleofcontribution

 

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