Updated March 8, 2019
Yes, Filipino immigrants can claim their Philippine SSS pension when they turn 60 years old.
Yes, even if they’re already naturalized citizens of another country.
How and Where Can I File My Retirement Claim When I Turn 60 Years Old?
. You can take a vacation in the Philippines and file your claim.
. If you’re not able to travel to the Philippines, you can authorize your trusted representative in the Philippines to file your claim. You will need to authenticate your Special Power of Attorney and other documents at the nearest Philippine embassy or consulate.
. Or if you’re near an SSS office overseas that’s processing claims, you can file your claim there.
Currently, there are 23 SSS offices overseas. Here are the locations of SSS offices in countries where there are a lot of Filipino immigrants:
SAN FRANCISCO, USA
Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco, California
447 Sutter St., 2nd Floor, Suite 203
San Francisco, CA 94108
Phone: 1415-757-0641
Email Address: sanfo@sss.gov.ph
SSS Representative: Marites C. Marin
Embassy of the Philippines
No. 11 Suffolk St., London
SW1Y 4HG, UK
Phone: 4-4207-451-1830
Email Address: london@sss.gov.ph
SSS Representative: Thelma V. Venturanza
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA
Philippine Consulate General in Toronto, Canada
202 160 Eglinton Avenue East
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4P 3B5
Phone: 1416-485-2999 | 485-2888 | 485-2881
Email: toronto@sss.gov.ph
SSS Representative: Roberto V. Roldan
CALGARY, ALBERTA, CANADA
Philippine Consulate General in Calgary, Canada
Suite 920, 517 10th Ave., Southwest
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Phone: 587 8343330
Email Address: balicasrs@sss.gov.ph
SSS Representative: Rhea S. Balicas
SSS MILAN, ITALY
Philippine Consulate General in Milan, Italy
Viale Stelvio, 71-Via Bernina 18
20159 Milan, Italy
Phone: 3902-4351-1953
Email Address: milan@sss.gov.ph
SSS Representatives: Wilma M. Ortiz | Lester Paul S. Mata
SSS ROME, ITALY
Embassy of the Philippines in Rome, Italy
Viale delle Medaglie d’Oro 112-114
00136 Rome, Italy
Phone: 3906-3973-9341
Email: rome@sss.gov.ph
SSS Representative: Jonnah A. Cruzada
I’m now 60 years old but I’m still working overseas. Can I file my claim now?
Yes. Voluntary Members and OFWs are not required to submit Certification of Separation from Employment or Cessation of Business or Self-Employment or Certification of No Earnings when they file their retirement claims before age 65.
Once you pay your contribution as Voluntary Member, your membership category automatically changes to Voluntary.
For VM, including OFW:
Proof of separation from employment or cessation of business or termination of contract or no earnings is not a requirement.
You don’t have to wait till you turn 65 to file your SSS retirement benefit claim. You just need to make sure your membership status has been changed to Voluntary Member.
You can check your online SSS account, and if your status is Employed, or Self-Employed, you can turn your status to VM or Voluntary Member by paying at least one monthly contribution as a Voluntary member. In your payment slip, write or check “Voluntary Member.”
If you’re already 54 or older, or if you plan to make this payment your last contribution payment, I suggest that you pay the current maximum monthly contribution (1,760 pesos as of March 2019).
SSS uses the last 60 monthly contributions as basis for computing the average monthly salary credit (one of the two basis of SSS pension amount).
If I decide to file my claim through a representative in the Philippines, what are the additional documents required from me?
. Special Power of Attorney (SPA). Your SPA should specifically state that you are giving the authority to your attorney-in-fact (representative) to file and sign your SSS claim documents for and on your behalf. The SPA should not be more than one year old, if issued abroad, and should not be more than 6-month old, if issued in the Philippines. The SPA should be authenticated at the nearest Philippine Embassy or Consulate, or an SSS Foreign Representative Officer. Here’s a template for a Special Power of Attorney (SPA). Here’s another sample SPA form. These SPAs are just examples. You need to change some words to fit your purposes.
. Valid ID cards of the representative
. Retirement Claim Form must be accomplished by the member.
I no longer have my Philippine IDs, can I use my IDs here where I’m now a resident or citizen?
Yes.
The SSS Guidebook says:
For members residing abroad, any valid ID card or document issued by
foreign governments indicating foreign citizenship, residency, or employment prior
to retirement (such as certificate of naturalization, foreign passport, driver’s license,
residency card, and work permit) shall be accepted in the absence of Philippine-issued ID or documents.
Where can I get SSS Retirement Claim forms?
You can download them from the SSS Website or from our Google Drive files.
List of Required Primary Documents:
Submit original or certified true copy and photocopy:
1. Valid ID
Any one of these:
. Social Security card
. UMID card
. Passport
. Professional Regulation Commission card
. Seaman’s Book (Seafarer’s ID and Record Book)
or any of the primary IDs issued by your adopted country’s government
If you have none of the above, present any two secondary IDs.
2. SSS Retirement Claim Application
3. SSS Member’s/Claimant’s Photo and Signature form
4. Birth Certificate issued by PSA (formerly NSO) or Local Civil Registrar
5. Savings account passbook or ATM card in the name of member, single account and not joint account, issued in the Philippines
– If name and/or account number is not indicated on the ATM card, present a copy of initial deposit slip.
– If you don’t have a Philippine bank account, accomplish a Visa cash card enrollment form, issued by an SSS-accredited bank. One of these is the SSS Visa Cash Card issued by CTBC Bank. Contact SSS about their Visa cash card application form.
6. Other supporting documents required by SSS:
Birth certificate, issued by PSA or by local civil registrar
Marriage certificate, issued by PSA or by local civil registrar
Note: All documents must be in English. If not, submit English translation.
What will I get from SSS as my Retirement Benefit if my total number of monthly contributions is less than the required 120 to qualify for pension?
You have 2 options:
. File your claim upon turning 60. You will get a Lump Sum, a one time payment of benefit. The amount is equal to the total of all your monthly contributions (including all your employers’ contributions to your account) plus interest.
Once you claim it, there will be no more benefit from SSS that you can claim. The only one benefit remaining is your Funeral Benefit, which will be claimed by your heirs after your death.
. Choose to continue paying your contributions to complete the required 120 contributions. This is only viable if you have already accumulated more than 60 contributions. You must be able to accumulate 120 contributions before you turn 65, the mandatory age of retirement.
See below some notes about Philippine SSS pension for Filipino immigrants:
1. Basically, a Filipino immigrant is still a Filipino citizen.
Republic Act No. 9225, known as the Citizenship Retention and Reacquisition Act of 2003, declares that natural-born citizens of the Philippines who become citizens of another country shall be deemed not to have lost their Philippine citizenship.
If you like to formalize your dual citizenship, here’s the process as described in the Bureau of Immigration website, or you can go to the website of the Philippine Consulate in Los Angeles, California, which gives more detailed information.
2. There are already many Filipinos who have been naturalized citizens of other countries that have been receiving their Philippine SSS pensions monthly.
Filipino pensioners abroad have been filing their ACOP or Annual Confirmation of Pensioner’s Form every year on their birthday month. Many have been using Visa debit cards to receive their SSS pension monthly. Recently, it’s Chinatrust (now CTBC Philippines) that has been issuing Visa debit cash cards for SSS pension withdrawals abroad.
3. Here’s the case of Philippine SSS pensioner in the UK, Mrs. Epigenia Belarmino.
As published by UK-based Pinoy new site AdoboRice, Mrs. Belarmino, a British citizen living in the UK, received her lumpsum benefit of 332,817.12 pesos in 2012, representing the total of her monthly pensions for 5 years, which accumulated because she filed at age 70. She also started receiving her monthly pension of 3,513.84, which will be for life. She was thankful to the SSS office at the Philippine Embassy in London for helping her process her Philippine SSS pension.
While working in the Philippines from August 1957 to July 1977, Mrs. Belarmino paid contributions to the SSS, accumulating a total of 20 credited years and total contributions of 3,176.06 pesos.
4. Section 15 of the 1997 Philippine SSS Law, RA 8282, states that the SSS may pay benefits without regard to nationality or country of residence. It also implies that a national of a foreign country can receive SSS benefits as long as his or her country is recognized by the Philippines and is also extending benefits to Filipino beneficiaries in the Philippines.
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