Let’s Compute Your SSS Maternity Benefit Based on the Expanded Maternity Law!

Moms-to-be, did you know that you can avail of your Social Security System (SSS) maternity benefit every time you get pregnant? If you’re qualified, you can receive a maximum of P70,000 monetary support to assist you financially through out your pregnancy. Here’s what you need to know about the RA No. 11210 or the Expanded Maternity Law and how it affects the computation of your SSS maternity benefit.

Enacted last March 11, 2019, this law extends the maternity leave benefit of pregnant moms to 105 days from the previous 60-day benefit. The extension in duration changes the computation of the SSS Maternity Benefit, granting a higher amount to moms as assistance.

You are qualified to apply for the SSS Maternity Benefit if you have paid at least three monthly contributions within the 12-month period immediately preceding the semester of your childbirth or miscarriage.

For example, you are due to give birth on December 2020. The semester referred to in this case is from July to December 2020 or the six-month period your due date falls under. From July to December, you should have at least three monthly contributions in order to qualify.

If you’re employed:

Download the MAT-1 form and fill it up
Notify your current employer within the first trimester of pregnancy
Submit the MAT-1 form to your HR together with a copy of your first ultrasound and two government IDs
Employer wil be the one to notify SSS

Note: Your employer will advance your benefit 30 days from the filing of the application and will be the one to reimburse the amount to SSS.

If you’re self-employed, a resigned employee, or an OFW:

Download the MAT-1 form and fill it up
File the notification directly to SSS

Note: You can reimburse your maternity benefit directly from SSS after birth. Provide a bank account where they can deposit the reimbursement.

Before we compute, let’s define a few terms first.

Expected Delivery Date: Ask your OB or check the expected date of delivery indicated in your ultrasound
Quarter of Delivery Month: This is the three-month group that ends in either March, June, September, or December
Semester of Contingency: This is the six-month period where your expected delivery date falls under. A semester refers to two consecutive quarters.
12-Month Period: This is the 12-month period preceding your semester of contingency

Example:
Expected Month of Delivery: March 2021
Semester of Contingency: October 2020-March 2021
12 Month Period prior to Semester of Contingency: October 2019-September 2020

Generally, these are the steps when computing for the SSS Maternity Benefit:

1. Identify the six highest monthly salary credits within the 12-month period.
Note: The maximum salary credit is P20,000 even if your salary is higher.

2. Add the 6 highest monthly salary credits to get the total monthly salary credit.

3. Divide the total monthly salary credit by 180 days to get the average daily salary credit.

4. Multiply the daily maternity allowance by the number of days based on the following to get the total amount of maternity benefit:
For Normal Deliver – 105 days
For Ceasarean Delivery – 105 days
Abortion, Miscarriage – 60 days
Solo Parent (either Normal or Ceasarean) – 120 days

Example: