SSS released P870M for jobless members in Jan - Sept

The Social Security System (SSS) said Tuesday it has released P869.99 million worth of unemployment benefits to 67,937 members from January to September this year.

“We fully understand the plight of our private-sector workers who have been laid off from their jobs. With this milestone benefit, we remain committed to providing financial aid amid the pandemic," said SSS president and CEO Aurora Ignacio.

"Also, with the inclusion of the unemployment benefit application in the E-Services Tab of the My.SSS portal, involuntary separated members have a more convenient option to submit their application online."

The unemployment benefit is an additional benefit to the SSS-administered programs as mandated by Republic Act 11199 or the Social Security Act of 2018.

The benefit covers employees including “kasambahay” and OFW members who were separated from their respective employment.

Members affected by involuntary separation due to installation of labor-saving devices, redundancy, retrenchment or downsizing, business closure or cessation of operation, and disease/illness of the employee whose continued employment is prohibited by law or is prejudicial to his or his co-employee’s health may apply for this benefit, according to the pension fund.

Economic downturn and natural or human-induced calamities/ disasters such as the COVID-19 pandemic are also considered as involuntary separation, it said.

The SSS noted that the age of the member and the number of posted contributions are the key conditions for the grant of unemployment benefit.

A member should not be over 60 years old at the time of involuntary separation.

As for underground/surface mine workers and racehorse jockeys, they should not be over 50 and 55 years old, respectively.

A member must have paid at least 36 monthly contributions, 12 months of which should be within the 18-month period immediately preceding the month of involuntary separation.

For instance, a member who has been involuntarily separated from his employment on September 15, 2021 must have at least 12 posted monthly contributions from March 2020 until August 2021 to qualify for the unemployment benefit, provided that he has at least 36 posted monthly contributions or at least three years in total as of September 2021, the SSS said.

To avail of the unemployment benefit, members can log in using their My.SSS account in the SSS website and submit the necessary information such as employment category, date of involuntary separation, the reason for involuntary separation, and the employer’s name where the member was separated.

Members will be also asked to enroll a valid/active/correct disbursement account to ensure the proper crediting of their benefit proceeds once their claim is approved. — VBL, GMA News