SSS OKs 240K online sickness benefit reimbursement applications worth P1.75B

State-run pension fund Social Security System (SSS) said Friday it has approved a total of 239,995 Sickness Benefit Reimbursement Applications (SBRA).

The SBRAs were submitted online from July 2020 to June 2021, which amounted to P1.75 billion, the SSS said.

SSS president and chief executive officer Aurora Ignacio said more employers are now acquainted in submitting their SBRA applications online using their My.SSS employer accounts.

“Using our electronic services like SBRA is a good indication that employers are aware of their employee's right to social security, specifically in availing their sickness benefits. Under the SSS Law, they are expected to pay in advance their employee's sickness benefits and submit these claims to SSS,” Ignacio said.

The SSS implemented the mandatory online filing of SS Sickness Benefit Reimbursement Applications (SBRA) for employers through the My.SSS Portal last July 2020 to ensure the uninterrupted delivery of service while the country is still under various quarantine restrictions.

“At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, SSS has already fast-tracked its digital transformation initiatives so that our members and employers can conveniently transact with us,” Ignacio said.

To submit SBRAs online, employers must have a registered employer account in the My.SSS portal, with a savings account number enrolled in the Disbursement Account Enrollment Module (DAEM).

Only SS sickness applications for new or initial claims with approved notification shall be filed through the E-Services menu of the employer's account, according to the SSS.

The date of submission by the employer shall serve as the date of filing of the SS SBRA.

Employers should also certify that the amount of sickness benefit was advanced to the employee based on the approved sickness notification in accordance with Section 14 of R.A. No. 11199, or the Social Security Act of 2018, the pension fund said.

To avoid the reduction or denial of sickness claims, the SSS said that the online notification system for sickness benefit through its website was established in 2015 to enable employers to notify the SSS of their employee's fact of sickness or injury and be able to view online the status of said filed notification.

The deadline for filing of Sickness Notification (SN) and SBRA has remained extended for illnesses or injuries incurred on March 1, 2020 onwards until the lifting of the enhanced community quarantine or general community quarantine in the country, after which they are still given 60 days to file their claims, the SSS noted.

Other facilities available online in the SSS website for employers include:

• viewing and updating of employer contact information
• enrollment of disbursement account
• status of payment for contribution, loan, and status of reimbursement claims
• benefit reimbursement for Sickness and Maternity claims
• submission of employment report for new hires
• submission of collection lists for contribution and loan payment
• filing of maternity notification, reimbursement application, and benefit adjustment of their employees
• submission of sickness notification of their employees
• certifying the employees' salary loan applications and retirement claim applications, and
• generation of payment reference number (PRN) for both contributions and loan payments.

— RSJ, GMA News