SSS: P1.35B in sickness benefit via online application disbursed

The Social Security System (SSS) has approved a total of 186,444 sickness benefit reimbursement applications (SBRA) submitted by 22,237 employers online through its portal from July 2020 to April 2021.

In a statement, the pension fund said the approved applications are equivalent to over P1.35 billion worth of sickness reimbursement benefits it released.

“We are glad that more employers are now using the My.SSS accounts to submit SBRAs, giving them comfort and security to transact with SSS even beyond office hours. It is a step ahead of the previous practice when they still have to wait for a hard copy of the approved sickness notification (SN) before physically submitting the SBRA documents to SSS branches,” said SSS president and CEO Aurora Ignacio.

The pension fund said the mandatory online submission of SBRA—which started on July 1, 2020—was imposed to reduce the processing time of sickness reimbursement claims and to eliminate the transmission of hard copies of claims from SSS branches to processing centers.

“Automating processes and providing online services to our members and employers are part of our ExpreSSS digitalization campaign as we work towards a simpler, faster and more convenient transaction process,” Ignacio said.

To submit the SBRA online, the SSS said employers must be registered with the My.SSS portal and have an approved disbursement account under the Disbursement Account Enrollment Module (DAEM).

There is no need for the employers to submit the hard copies of the SBRA and approved SN when filing online, although they need to certify the amount of sickness benefit advanced to the employee, it said.

“However, we would like to remind our employers that sickness benefit claims for adjustment and/or refiling must be made through the drop box system at SSS branches since the online facility only accepts new and initial claims with approved sickness notifications.

"Employers and company representatives are also advised to initially set an appointment with our SSS branches to avoid congestion in the branch offices,” Ignacio said.  —Ted Cordero/LBG, GMA News