Continuing SSS Membership Contributions for Overseas Filipinos

February 27, 2011 · Filed Under investment, retirement, SSS 

Continuing SSS Membership Contributions in the Philippines for Overseas Filipinos, Filipino Immigrants Abroad — Does It Make Financial Sense?

If you’re a Filipino who has become an immigrant or permanent resident abroad, does it make sense if you continue paying your SSS membership contributions in the Philippines as a Voluntary Member?

According to the SSS rules, you can get a lifetime pension if you’ve paid at least 10 years or 120 monthly premiums before your semester of retirement, which is either at age 60 when one has retired from work, or at age 65 when retirement is compulsory.

If the number of your monthly contributions is less than 120, you get a lump sum.

Now, if you’re a permanent resident or immigrant abroad, and you have less than 120 monthly contributions, does it make sense continuing as an SSS voluntary member and completing the required 120 monthly contributions?

On the other hand, if you already have at least 120 monthly contributions, does it make sense continuing as a voluntary member and increasing the number of monthly contributions in the hope that the monthly pension would become higher?

To get a better answer to the above questions, let’s see how SSS computes the retirement benefit or the monthly pension:

A.   For those who have paid less than 120 monthly contributions, the retirement benefit is a lump sum. The amount is equal to the total contributions paid by the member and by his/her employer plus interest.

B.   For those who have paid at least 120 monthly contributions, the monthly pension would be the highest of the following three computations:

1.  40 percent of the average monthly salary credit

2.  300 pesos
plus 20 percent of the average monthly salary credit
plus 2 percent of the average monthly salary credit for each credited year of service in
excess of 10 years

3.   1,200 pesos when the credited years of service is 10 or more but less than 20, or
2,000 pesos when the credited years of service is 20 or more

For formulas Nos. 1 and 2 of letter B, take note that it says average monthly salary credit. (The salary credits are seen in the SSS Contribution Schedule) If you continue as a voluntary member, can you maintain paying the high monthly contributions that you and your previous employers previously paid? Does the plus-2-percent add value if you increase your number of years in excess of 10?

The best answer really is for you to:

  • request for a copy of your SSS contributions (the SSS online inquiry can display only 20 years of contributions),
  • and then compute your retirement benefit according to the SSS formula using your actual contributions and salary credits,
  • and then compute using a projected or additional monthly contributions and salary credits,
  • and then compare.
 

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Comments

15 Responses to “Continuing SSS Membership Contributions for Overseas Filipinos”

  1. valentino on February 12th, 2013 2:56 pm

    seven on February 11th, 201311:45pm
    Hi Nors tanong ko lang kong pwede i contenue ang sss contrubution ko. i stop 2007 until to date 2013. kasi OFW na ako.and i was member of sss from 1996 when i was working in the philippines.thanks.

  2. Nors on February 13th, 2013 9:29 pm

    Hi valentino, yes, you can continue your SSS contributions as OFW. You can pay via IRemit or Lucky Money or Skyfreight, etc. Keep your receipts. Your payment from abroad will change your category from Employed to OFW. I suggest you enroll in online SSS so you can track your SSS payments. But you need a 6-digit number from the RS5 receipt. Since remittance firms do not have this RS5 form, you can ask someone to pay for you here (perhaps for Feb or March only, or Jan to Mar 2013) using the RS5 form, and then ask for the SBR no. on the RS5 receipt. best regards http://www.workingpinoy.com/2013/02/reasons-enroll-online-sss/

  3. shirrymel mamuri on March 11th, 2013 11:55 am

    Hi Sir

    My mother has been a member of SSS when she has still no husband and she’s using her maiden name that time.And she stop contributing when she got married,became housewife and now she went abroad. Now she wants to continue contributing to her SSS. And me as her daughter wants to pay to said contribution since she is now working abroad. I just want to know how to know her last contribution through online? Should there be any? I want to locate her name but don’t know how, because I want to continue her contribution. Please send me an email, stated above is my email address..Thank you.God Bless..

  4. Nors on March 11th, 2013 2:36 pm

    Hi shirrymel, ask your mother to update her SSS abroad at the SSS desk (Philipine consulate). She brings her marriage certificate (orig and xerox). Another way is for you to send her 3 E4 forms via postal mail https://sites.google.com/site/informationphilippines/sss-forms/e-4—-member-s-data-amendment-form
    Your mother fills these forms, writes an authorization letter authorizing you to process her SSS papers, and send these to you via postal mail including xerox of her IDs or passport. You submit these to the nearest SSS. Bring your ID too. You should be able to get an approved and stamped copy of E4. Keep this. Ask your mother her preferred amount of contribution:
    http://www.workingpinoy.com/2012/02/sss-contributions-philippines/
    Pay one month, using your mother’s married name. When the surname is updated and when your payment is posted, you can enroll your mother in online SSS:
    http://sssphilippinesnotes.blogspot.com/2013/02/how-to-enroll-in-online-sss.html

  5. david on March 19th, 2013 2:28 pm

    hi ma’am
    ang tatay ko po ay 60 na, may 2 years lang po syang hulog sa sss dati lang po kasi syang vendor sa kahirapan po ng buhay ay hindi na nya nahulugan pa. posible po ba na ipagpatuloy ko ang contribution nya.. nais ko po kasi matulungan ang tatay ko ng s pagtanda nya ay may sarili naman po syang pera.
    Maraming Salamat po

  6. Nors on March 19th, 2013 9:18 pm

    Hi david, yes, you can continue paying for your father. Use RS5 form. Did your father register as self-employed? Does he have his SSS-stamped RS1 form? If you’re not sure, enroll him in online SSS, http://sssphilippinesnotes.blogspot.com/2013/02/how-to-enroll-in-online-sss.html so you can check if your father has a Date of Coverage. Call SSS if he doesn’t have a Date of Coverage.

  7. mabelle on March 21st, 2013 10:33 am

    hallo. good day! 59 yrs old na po ang papa ko… he’ll be 60 this nov 2013. ask ko lng po makakatanggap po ba cya ng pension? pinagpatuloy ko po ang monthly contributions nya… mga 120+ months na po ang na contribute nya. may nasagap kasi ako na hindi daw makakatanggap ng pension pag voluntary member ang category nya… pls advise… maraming salamat po.

    mabelle

  8. Nors on March 21st, 2013 10:19 pm

    Hi mabelle, yes, your papa can get his pension, even if he’s voluntary. Maybe the news you’ve heard are those cases with no Date of Coverage (this happens when they did not register correctly with SSS). But if your papa was employed before becoming voluntary, it’s most likely that he has a Date of Coverage. Enroll your papa online so you can check if he has a Date of Coverage. http://sssphilippinesnotes.blogspot.com/2013/02/how-to-enroll-in-online-sss.html

  9. Jenica on April 4th, 2013 6:07 pm

    Hi,

    I’m working abroad & i would like to inquire on how to continue my SSS contribution that has been stopped since May 2006 up to this date of 2013. According to the previous posts, online contribution is allowed. But i can’t go home to get the RS5 receipt.
    -Can i get RS5 online?
    -Do i need to give the monthly contribution for the years that i wasn’t able to give?
    -Is there any online service for checking my contribution from Y2003-Y2006?

    Awaiting for your reply.

    Thanks a lot.

    Regards,

    Jenica

  10. Juan on May 2nd, 2013 2:49 pm

    Hi, my Dad, 78 years old, has 49 months contribution only and I plan to complete the remaining unpaid 71 monthly contributions. If I ever do this, will he automatically be entitled for a pension considering his age? Will he be able to collect a lumpsum payment for the uncollected pension from 60 to his present age?

    Thanks.

  11. adalinaaragones on May 2nd, 2013 5:38 pm

    Hi,pwede pa bang ituloy ang voluntary sss contribution now that my husband is 60 yrs old. I think i stop paying since 1990′s. and what happen to our previous contribution. thanks

  12. Nors on May 2nd, 2013 8:44 pm

    Hi Juan, yes, you can continue to pay so he can accumulate 120 months. But that will take you nearly 6 years. Your father will be 84 by then. There’s a new SSS policy about this — you need to apply on or before July 1, 2013 if you want to continue. Click this to see the
    SSS voluntary payment application form.
    Sorry, your father will not qualify for a lump sum that includes pension from age 60 because he did not have yet 120 contributions when he turned 60. Pension starts only when 2 requirements are complied with: age 60 or older and 120 contributions or more.

  13. Nors on May 2nd, 2013 9:46 pm

    Hi adalinaaragones, your previous contributions are there with SSS. Have you not accumulated at least 120 contributions? If not, you can decide to continue paying to accumulate 120 and qualify for pension, or your husband can already claim his lump sum. You can authorize someone to inquire for you (authorization letter, member’s ID and representative’s ID)

  14. Jeng on May 11th, 2013 11:27 am

    Hi,

    Will I still be getting my maternity benefit if I stop paying my SSS this 2013? I am an immigrant and have been paying my SSS since 2001.

    Jeng

  15. Nors on May 11th, 2013 8:18 pm

    Hi Jeng, yes, as long as you file your MAT1 before delivery and you have paid at least 3 of the 12 months BEFORE semester of contingency.

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