All About the SSS Expanded Maternity Leave Law

Last updated: August 17, 2023

Written by: Digido Financial Writers Team | Reviewed by: Mark Anthony

As an expecting parent, you have probably anticipated all the joys of having your baby in your arms. You might have also listed the names you like, as well as the baby stuff you are going to buy.

These simple preparations are indeed exciting. But have you also prepared enough money for pregnancy and childbirth expenses?

Nowadays, the cost of pregnancy and childbirth is no laughing matter. But if you are already an SSS member, you can surely get monetary benefits in delivering your baby. And that is the SSS Maternity Benefit.

What is SSS Maternity Benefit?

The SSS Maternity Benefit is the daily cash allowance of SSS female members upon instance of pregnancy who are unable to work due to:

✓ childbirth;

✓ miscarriage;

✓ emergency termination of pregnancy, including stillbirth.

This government-mandated benefit has improved and is now known as the SSS’ 105-Day Expanded Maternity Leave Law (R.A. 11210). The law aims to protect the welfare of working women for their maternal duties. It also provides women ample time to regain their health and wellness after childbirth. This is available to solo women parents as well.
In order for a pregnant member to qualify, there must be at least 3 monthly contributions within the 12-month period immediately preceding the semester of the birth of the child, miscarriage, or emergency termination of pregnancy (ETP). The SSS uses the semester of contingency to evaluate if a member can avail of the maternity benefit.
There is no set SSS maternity qualifying period; you can avail of maternity benefits as long as you have met the conditions on SSS contributions.

The Expanded Maternity Leave of SSS is eligible to female members regardless of:

✓ civil and employment status;

✓ child legitimacy;

✓ frequency of pregnancy.

Under the SSS contributions, soon-to-be mothers will enjoy the expanded maternity benefits with 12% of the monthly salary credit. They will also get 105 days duration for both the normal and caesarean childbirth delivery. For single parents, they will have an additional 15 days, for a total of 120 days. On the other hand, for miscarriage or emergency termination, SSS provides 60 days duration.

Granted benefits included in this law are:

✓ Full pay, consisting not only of the SSS Maternity Benefits but also the salary differential paid by the employer.

✓ An option to extend another 30 days duration but without pay for childbirth, providing the employer with due notice.

✓ Female National Athletes are also eligible for the benefits.

✓ Health care services courtesy of National Health Insurance, under its existing rules and regulations.

✓ Unlimited childbirth claims, including miscarriage.

✓ Maximum benefit claim of PHP 70,000 for both normal and cesarean delivery.

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SSS Expanded Maternity Leave Law Requirements

For all women members of SSS, the following requirements are necessary before you can avail of the benefits:

✓ For those employed by private companies or self-employed women, you must have paid at least 3 months of SSS contributions. It should be within 12 months before the semester of giving birth, miscarriage, or emergency termination of pregnancy.

For example, assume your due date is within July to September 2023. Then you should have posted contributions from April 2022 to March 2023. You can’t avail of the benefits if you paid your contributions only within April to September 2023.

✓ You must also provide proof and notification of your pregnancy. You must send this to your employer if you are a private worker. If you are working for the government, you can submit it to the head of your agency. Meanwhile, OFWs and the self-employed can directly send the proof through My.SSS portal or SSS Mobile App.

Note that claiming SSS Maternity Benefits is valid up to 10 years from the date of your delivery.

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How to Compute SSS Maternity Benefits

Before you compute your SSS Maternity Benefits, you must exclude the first semester of your delivery or contingency. Remember that semester is the two consecutive quarters. Then, count 12 months backward starting from the date of your semester.

You need to determine your monthly salary credits within this period using the SSS monthly contribution table. The goal is to get your average daily salary credit, which is also equal to your daily maternity allowance. It will then be your basis to compute your total maternity benefit.

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SSS Maternity Computation 2023

Example of Computation:

Date of Delivery: October 2023
The semester of Delivery will be July to December 2023, since October is within this semester. Count 12 months backward, starting from June 2022. That will be from June 2023 to July 2022.
After getting that, identify your 6 highest monthly salary credits within that period.

Assume:

 So, the 6 highest monthly credits are the six PHP 16,000 – periods from June 2023 to January 2023.

Get the sum of the six PHP 16,000, hence the total is PHP 96,000. Divide the total by 180 days to get the average daily salary credit:

PHP 96,000 / 180 days = PHP 533.33/day
The PHP 533.33 is equivalent to the daily maternity allowance. Thus, assume your approved duration is 105 days:
PHP 533.33 x 105 days = PHP 55,999.65
Therefore, PHP 55,999.65 is your total maternity benefit.

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How to Avail of 70k SSS Maternity Benefits?

Note that the PHP 70,000 SSS Maternity Benefits is the maximum amount to avail. Hence, to get this amount, your posted contribution to SSS must be at a maximum amount as well, with 105 days duration. It will determine your monthly salary credit indicated in the SSS contribution table.
The updated SSS contribution table is available on the SSS official website.

SSS Maternity Benefits for Voluntary Members

The process of availing maternity benefits as a voluntary member of SSS is different from that of those members who have employers. As soon as you have a copy of your first ultrasound, you can notify SSS about your pregnancy. You can apply for maternity benefits by filing a Maternity Notification Form (Mat1). This SSS Maternity leave form is available in the SSS branch and downloadable from the SSS official website.

Submit the following requirements to the SSS branch:

✓ Filled out Mat1;
✓ Ultrasound;
✓ 2 valid IDs.

After that, they will return to you your Mat1 with another form attached to it. This form contains the list of additional requirements you need when claiming the benefit. These are:

✓ Bank Account Details (affiliated by SSS);
✓ Certified True Copy of Operating Room Record (for Caesarean delivery);
✓ Baby’s Birth Certificate (certified true copy);
✓ Maternity Reimbursement Form (Mat2 for SSS maternity reimbursement computation);
✓ Valid ID;
✓ Authorization letter (if a representative will submit the requirements).

The Mat2 can also be obtained from the SSS branch. You can fill this out and submit it together with the other additional requirements.
Wait for SSS notification within 2-3 weeks.

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How to Compute Maternity Benefits for Voluntary Members?

You might be asking, how much is the SSS maternity benefit for voluntary members?

The computation of the maternity benefits for voluntary members is similar to the above calculation. Get your monthly salary credits based on your paid monthly contribution first. Then, get your average daily salary credit. And again, multiply your average daily salary credit by the approved number of days. The result is your total maternity benefit.

How to apply for SSS maternity benefits online

Now that we’ve given you sufficient information about the maternity benefits you can get from SSS, it’s time that we show you how to apply for you and your little one!

1. Log on to your My.SSS account at https://member.sss.gov.ph/. If you don’t have an account, you can sign up for free.
2. Under the E-services tab, click the “Submit Maternity Benefit Application” option.
3. Read and understand the reminders then click Proceed.
4. Key in the required information then click Proceed in order for it to be validated. You must also confirm your eligibility for SSS maternity benefits.
5. Give your Type of Claim and Disbursement Account then Proceed.
6. Upload the supporting documents. Once done, read the certification statement then press Certify and Submit.
7. Keep the general transaction details.
8. Check your email for a notification regarding your SSS maternity benefit application

The Importance of SSS Maternity Leave Computation for Filipino Women

It is every Filipino woman’s right to know the benefits that the government mandated for them. And as a female member of SSS, it is necessary to understand how you can enjoy and avail these benefits.

Being updated with the law is a citizen’s responsibility. Thus, as a Filipino, you must pay attention to any declaration of the government about amended rules and regulations. If you know the rules, you will not be left behind from the essential matters, especially the privileges given to you.

It is no different from knowing how to compute the financial assistance you may get from being an SSS member. If you know the computation for your Maternity Benefits, you can easily spot if there’s a dispute on your benefit. Thus, you can immediately address it to the agency.

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GSIS maternity benefits

Unfortunately, unlike the SSS, the GSIS does not offer maternity benefits to its members.

However, government agencies are mandated to grant maternity benefit claims to its employees as stipulated in the RA 11210. That means women government employees can still avail of the 105-day maternity leave.

While the GSIS does not offer maternity benefits, members can still avail of its retirement and life insurance benefits that can help first-time parents and established families alike. Alternatively, they can apply for maternity benefits from National Health Insurance, which we will show you in the next section below.

Maternity Benefits in National Health Insurance

National Health Insurance offers maternity benefits that are health packages that expectant mothers can avail of to help them during their pregnancy. Every member that is about to give birth is immediately eligible for these benefits, regardless of number of contributions.

There are two maternity benefit packages: Maternity Care Package (MCP) and Expanded Newborn Care Package (NCP). The MCP has two packages, namely Antenatal Care Package and Normal Spontaneous Delivery Package. Members can avail of the MCP for prenatal checkups, normal delivery, and postpartum care. MCP coverage is Php 6,500 for accredited hospitals, and Php 8,000 for accredited birthing homes, lying-in or maternity clinics.

Meanwhile, the Expanded NCP has a coverage of Php 2,950 and covers essential newborn care, newborn screening tests, and newborn hearing tests.

To avail of National Health Insurance maternity benefits, you must prepare and secure your member’s data record (MDR),  Claim Form (CF1, if employed), CSF form (if employed), proof of premium payments, National Health Insurance ID and valid IDs, and  CF2 from your healthcare provider.

SSS paternity benefits

Unfortunately, the SSS currently does not offer paternity benefits for expectant fathers. However, dads-to-be can avail of SSS paternity leave courtesy of RA 8187 or the Paternity Leave Act of 1996. Under this law, a married father can avail of 7 days paternity leave.

But the RA 11210 has expanded this: married fathers can now avail of additional 7 days paternity leave as the pregnant woman can transfer her maternity leave days on to her partner. All in all, married fathers can now have up to 14 days paternity leave. If you are interested in how to file paternity leave in SSS, remember that paternity leave is not filed with SSS, but with your employer. To do this, tell your human resources department about your wife’s pregnancy and planned delivery date.

On the other hand, unmarried fathers can have 7 days paternity leave under RA 8187. However, thanks to paternity leave law RA 11210, expectant mothers can allocate up to 7 days of her own 105-day maternity leave to the father of her child, whether or not they are married.

Digido Loan Will Help in an Emergency Case

Even if you have completed all the requirements of claiming your maternity benefit, this does not guarantee immediate encashment. You need to wait for a couple of weeks before you can enjoy your SSS benefit, or your total monthly salary may not be enough to cover all of the expenses related to your pregnancy and childbirth. Having readily available cash is necessary, especially during emergencies such as:

✓ sudden childbirth delivery before the due date, or premature delivery;
✓ contingency like miscarriage.

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When you complete the loan application to Digido, you will receive the money instantly after confirming the contract. You can expect it to be reflected on your bank account during banking hours.

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Conclusion

When availing of your SSS Maternity Benefit, you must check your posted contributions first. If you are an employee of a private company, make sure that your employer pays your contributions regularly.

Additionally, update your membership status as well to avoid any issues when applying and claiming maternity benefits. You can update your status by submitting a filled-out Static Information Sheet to any SSS branch.

Moreover, while your maternity benefits allowance is in process, you can rely on Digido to get funds immediately. Digido loan will help you cover the expenses right away.

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