Guide to File and Claim SSS Unemployed Benefits

SSS Unemployed Benefits is a cash benefit given to Filipino employees (including the Overseas Filipino Workers and housemaids or kasambahays) who got displaced or laid off from their jobs.

Unemployment benefit is also known as Unemployment Insurance Benefit or Involuntary Separation Benefit. SSS Unemployment Benefits is one of the critical provisions of the Republic Act 11199 or the Social Security Act of 2018.

What are the requirements to file for SSS Unemployment Benefits?

The requirements you need to prepare if you wish to apply for the SSS Unemployment Benefits are as follows:

1. Original copy and one (1) copy of your valid ID. Any of the following primary IDs or documents listed below will do.

• Unified Multi-purpose ID (UMID) Card
• SSS card
• Voter’s ID
• Driver’s License
• Postal Identity Card
• Passport
• Alien Certificate of Registration
• National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Clearance
• Firearm Registration
• License to Own and Possess Firearms
• Seafarer’s Identification and Record Book

Note: If, in any case, you do not possess any of the following primary IDs listed above, you can present the original and photocopies of any two (2) valid IDs that you have, as long as they contain your signature and photo.

1. Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Certification, also known as the Certificate of Involuntary Separation, together with the Notice of Termination or the Affidavit of Termination of Employment.
2. Disbursement Account

Note: If the application for the SSS Unemployment Benefits was approved, the claimant must have a disbursement account enrolled with the SSS through the Disbursement Account Enrollment Module or the DAEM to claim the said benefits. You can claim the SSS Unemployment Benefits through any of the following payment channels:

• Unified Multi-Purpose ID (UMID) Card enrolled as an ATM
• Union Bank of the Philippines (UBP) Quick Card
• SSS-enrolled Bank Account
• Electronic wallets like GCash or Paymaya
• Through remittance transfer companies (RTCs)

Who can file the SSS Unemployment Benefit?

The person who meets the following conditions below is qualified to file for SSS Unemployment Benefit.

1. An SSS member who is not above sixty (60) years old at the time of sudden unemployment.
2. An SSS member has paid at least three years (36 months) of their monthly contribution. One (1) year must be in the 18 months immediately following the month of involuntary separation.
3. An SSS member with no settled SSS Unemployment Benefit within the last three years before the date of unemployment
4. An SSS member who has been involuntarily laid off because of valid reasons as written in the Articles 298 (283) and 299 (284) of Presidential Decree No. 442 (Labor Code of the Philippines); Article 300 (285) of Presidential Decree No. 442 (Labor Code of the Philippines); the said valid reasons are as follows:

• Installation of labor-saving devices
• Redundancy
• Retrenchment or downsizing
• Closure of cessation of operation
• The disease of the employee whose continued employment is prohibited by law or is prejudicial to his health and that of his co-employees.
• Serious insult of the employer or his representative on the employees’ honor and person.
• The inhumane and unbearable treatment accorded by the employee by the employer or his representative
• Crime committed by the employer/representative against the employee or any of the immediate members of his family
• Other causes that are analogous to the forgoing

Other causes of termination:

• Natural or artificial disasters or calamities
• Economic downturn
• Other more cases to be determined by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Social Security System (SSS)

Note: Excluded from the list above, meaning those who are not qualified to file for SSS Unemployment Benefits are the employees who (1) have been temporarily laid off, (2) are furloughed employees, (3) voluntarily quit their job (4) became jobless due to “endo” and (5) whose reason of termination is one or more of the causes under the Article 297 (282) of Presidential Decree No. 442 (Labor Code of the Philippines), which are as follows:

• Gross and habitual neglect of duties
• Commission of a crime or offense 
• Serious misconduct 
• Willful disobedience to lawful orders
• Fraud of willful breach of trust or loss of confidence
• Similar cases like abandonment, gross inefficiency, disloyalty, conflict of interest, or dishonesty

How to file for SSS Unemployment Benefits?

Filing for Unemployment Benefits can be done via an online application for a faster and more convenient transaction. In applying for SSS Unemployment Benefit online, you can follow the easy steps and guide below.

1. Go to the SSS online website www.sss.gov.phLog into your My.SSS account (make sure that you have a registered account at the SSS website first before starting your online application).
2. Click “Apply for Unemployment Benefits,” which you can see from the list of SSS E-Services.
3. Input the required information on the online filing form.
4. Read the certification thoroughly.
5. They will send a message to your registered email address regarding your SSS Unemployment Benefit application. 
6. Patiently wait for the release of your SSS Unemployment Benefits.

Note: You can check or verify your SSS Unemployment Benefits Application status thru Email by sending the following information to member_relations@sss.gov.ph.

1. Full name
2. SSS number
3. Details of your concern
4. Photo or scanned copy of any of the following: UMID Card/PhilID/one primary card or document; or two (2) valid IDs/documents with your signature and containing your picture
5. Photo of you holding your ID cards or documents

How to claim SSS Unemployment Benefits?

The SSS Unemployment Benefit payout can be done through different payment channels such as the SSS UMID card enrolled as an ATM, thru participating banks, electronic wallets like GCash and PayMaya, and via remittance transfer to cash payout outlets.

When to file for SSS Unemployment Benefits?

An employee who wishes to apply for SSS Unemployment Benefits can only file their request once every three (3) years, starting from the date of involuntary separation or termination. In line with this, the SSS cannot provide two (2) or more benefits simultaneously. Therefore, if in case you have filed two (2) or more compensable contingencies within the same compensable period, what you’ll receive will be the highest one between the two. 

You can follow, visit, or message the SSS social media accounts/pages, hotlines, and Emails provided below for more information and the latest updates.

Facebook and Youtube: Philippine Social Security System 

Twitter: PHLSSS

Instagram: mysssph

Viber Community: MYSSSPH Updates

SSS Hotline: 1455

SSS Email: member_relations@sss.gov.ph

Source: sss.gov.ph