Expanded SSS Maternity Benefits

Updated July 27, 2023

The law which expanded SSS Maternity Benefits — the 105-Day Expanded Maternity Leave Law — became effective on March 11, 2019.

pregnant-woman-expanded maternity leave law

This means that all eligible women SSS members who gave birth or miscarried on March 11, 2019 or after can avail of all the benefits offered under the law.

You are Eligible or Qualified for the SSS Maternity Benefit if you have paid at least 3 monthly contributions within the 12-month period prior to your semester of contingency (delivery of child or miscarriage or termination of pregnancy).

What Are the Improvements under the Expanded Maternity Leave Law?

Increase in Number of Days

  • 105 days of paid leave for a married woman who gives birth
  • 120 days of paid leave for a single or unmarried woman who gives birth
  • 60 days of paid leave for a married or single woman who undergoes miscarriage or emergency termination of pregnancy
  • Additional 30 days of unpaid leave is offered as an option if you like to extend your maternity leave
  • Up to 7 days of paid leave (taken from your 105 or 120 days) can be allocated to the father of your child, whether you’re married to him or not, so he can help you care for your baby.
    In case the father is not available, a relative within the 4th degree of consanguinity or the current partner sharing the same household with the mother can be chosen as alternate caregiver.

The same number of days for Normal Delivery and Cesarean Section

105 days for a married mother, 120 days for a single mother, whether normal or CS delivery

No More Limits

. You can enjoy maternity leave for all your pregnancies or miscarriages
. Hindi na lang for 4 pregnancies na kagaya ng dati. UNLI na!

Your employed partner can now enjoy up to 7 days of paid leave, whether you’re married to him or not.

. The 7 days will be deducted from your allocation of 105 or 120 days. Prior notifications to both your employers are required.

. If you’re married to your partner, this 7-day allocation is in addition to the 7 days  of paid leave granted under the Paternity Leave Act of 1996. Magiging 14 days ang total of paid leaves. Itong Paternity Leave law ay for married men lang and for the first 4 pregnancies or miscarriages lang.

What Happens if Your SSS Maternity Benefit is Lower than Your Actual Salary?

If your salary is much higher than average, you might have realized that what you get from SSS as your maternity benefit for 105 days or 120 days is lower than your actual salary for 105 days or 120 days. Mabuti napansin ito noong ginawa nila ang Expanded law.

Private-sector Employers Will Pay the Difference

If you work in the private sector, your employer should pay the difference between the total amount you receive from the SSS (for 105 days or 120 days) and your full salary (for the same 105 or 120 days).

Full pay means actual remuneration or earnings paid by your employer for services rendered on normal working days and hours, including allowances provided for under company policy or collective bargaining agreement.

Halimbawa, 30k pesos a month ang sahod mo. Ang total sahod mo for 105 days ay 105k pesos. Kung married ka, ang SSS maternity benefit mo for 105 days ay 70k pesos.

Ang mangyayari, compared sa sahod mo, mawawalan ka ng 35k pesos. Para mabawi yang 35k na kulang, according to the Expanded Law, dapat ibigay ng Employer mo yang 35k pesos sa iyo.

Pero bago ibigay sa iyo ang 35k, babawasin muna ang mga SSS, Philhealth and Pag-ibig contributions mo for 3.5 months (105 days). Puedeng 7,175 pesos ang total deduction. Ang differential na ibibigay sa iyo ay 27,825.

Sabi ng ibang employers, hindi nila kakayaning ibigay ang differential.

Okay, sabi naman ng batas. There are companies or employers exempted from paying the differential. A company is exempted from paying the differential if the company is distressed, your company employs only 10 workers or less, your company’s total assets are not more than 3 million pesos, or your company is already giving maternity benefits similar or better than this Expanded Maternity Leave Law.

See here DOLE’s Guidelines on Computing Maternity Benefit Differential

Public-Sector Employees Will Receive Full Pay During Their Maternity Leave

Your full pay during your maternity leave will be paid to you by your employer (government agency). You have the option to receive it either in lump sum or through regular payrolls.

Public-School Teachers Can Enjoy Maternity Leave Even During Long Vacations 

You can avail of this benefit in full even if you give birth during summer or Christmas vacations. You’ll get both your maternity leave pay and your proportional vacation pay (PVP).

Maternity leave can not be used in advance or deferred to some other dates in the future

. You must use your leave around your date of delivery or miscarriage, without interruption or gap.
. You can use your leave for a number of days immediately before giving birth and after giving birth. You are required to spend at least 60 days of your leave after giving birth.
. This means married mothers can spend only up to 44 days prior to childbirth (one day for delivery and 60 for post-delivery)
and single mothers can spend only up to 59 days prior to childbirth (one day for delivery and 60 for post-delivery).

Notification requirement for extension of leave
If you like to extend your leave, submit a written notice to your employer, or head of your government agency at least 45 days before the end of your maternity leave, except in a medical emergency, in which case, you can notify after your emergency.

Rules Retained from the old SSS Maternity Benefit law

No Discrimination related to your Civil Status

Whether you’re married or unmarried to the father of your child, you can avail of the leave benefit.

All pregnant members of SSS and GSIS can enjoy the benefit

Whether you are Employed, Self-Employed, Voluntary, Non-working Wife or OFW, you can avail of this benefit, as long as you have paid at least 3 monthly contributions within the 12-month period BEFORE your semester of childbirth or miscarriage.

Required Number of SSS Contributions
You should have contributed at least 3 monthly contributions within the past 12 months PRIOR to your semester of childbirth or miscarriage.

Notification of pregnancy

Notify your employer about your pregnancy and expected date of delivery. You also notify them if you’re going to give paid-leave allocations (from your 105 days or 120 days) to your employed partner or relative.

The SSS have these forms: Maternity Notification form and Allocation of Maternity Leave Credits form. You file these forms with your employer (they can forward these to SSS or they can file it through their online SSS account).

Basis of computation of SSS maternity benefit amount

Amount of benefit is based on your salary credits.

Steps:

  1. Identify the 12 months prior to your semester of contingency.
  2. Look at your salary credits for these 12 months.
  3. Find the 6 highest salary credits.
  4. Add these 6 salary credits.
  5. Divide by 180 days. Bakit 180? Kasi 6 months x 30 days (para makuha ang average)
  6. Ang result ang maging Average Daily Salary Credit mo.
  7. Now, multiply itong Average x 105 days or 120 days
  8. Yan ang SSS Maternity Benefit mo

Your Employer Will Advance Your Benefit

Your employer should advance your full benefit within 30 days of your filing of your maternity leave.

How to File Online Your Claim for SSS Maternity Benefit

Make sure you have clear scans of your documents. Gawing mong colored scan yong mga documents na merong kulay, kagaya ng Birth Certificate. Para mas complete ang instructions, basahin mo itong bagong SSS Circular, issued June 2023: Guidelines on Documents Required for Claiming your SSS Maternity Benefits online.

Can you file for both SSS maternity benefit and sickness benefit for the same child delivery, miscarriage or emergency termination of pregnancy?

No. Isang benefit lang dapat. Maternity benefit lang.

Social Security Act of 1997 RA 8282
SEC. 14-A. Maternity Leave Benefit
(c) That payment of daily maternity benefits shall be a bar to the recovery of sickness benefits provided by this Act for the same period for which daily maternity benefits have been received

RA 11210 effective 2019
(3) That payment of daily maternity benefits shall be a bar to the recovery of sickness benefits provided under Republic Act No. 1161, as amended, for the same period for which daily maternity benefits have been received.

Not Considered for Maternity Benefit <<– SSS contributions paid during semester of contingency

Kapag hindi ka regular na nagbabayad ng SSS contributions, at gusto mong maghabol ng SSS maternity benefit, dapat sa time na na-feel mo na baka buntis ka na, magbayad ka na ng SSS contributions, para sure na makahabol ka. Ang contributions na nabayaran a few months before your child delivery ay hindi kino-consider ng SSS. Halimbawa, manganganak ka sa December, ang semester of contingency mo ay June to December. Ang mga binayaran mong contributions from June to December ay hindi na kasama sa computation ng SSS. Ang iko-consider nila ay yong mga binayaran mo within 12 months bago sa June na yan.

Meron kaming magandang explanation dito ng Semester of Contingency.

See here the full text of Republic Act No. 11210, known as the 105-Day Expanded Maternity Leave Law, signed into law by President Duterte on February 20, 2019.

Full text of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the Expanded Maternity Leave Law, signed on May 1, 2019

Senate Press Release on May 2, 2019 on the Effectivity of the Law

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