The Social Security System (SSS) has granted P869.99 million worth of unemployment benefits to 67,937 members in the first nine months of the year, the pension fund said yesterday.
The unemployment benefit is an additional benefit to the SSS-administered programs as mandated under Republic Act No. 11199 or the Social Security Act of 2018. This covers employees including house helpers and overseas Filipino worker members who were separated from their respective employments.
Members affected by involuntary separation due to installation of labor-saving devices, redundancy, retrenchment or downsizing, business closure or cessation of operation, and disease/illness of the employee whose continued employment is prohibited by law or is prejudicial to his or his co-employee’s health may apply for this benefit.
Economic downturn and natural or human-induced calamities/disaster such as the coronavirus pandemic are also considered as involuntary separation.
The age of the member and the number of posted contributions are the key conditions for the grant of unemployment benefit.
A member should not be over 60 years old at the time of involuntary separation. As for underground/surface mine workers and racehorse jockeys, they should not be over 50 years old and 55 years old, respectively.
As to the qualifying contributions, a member must have paid at least 36 monthly contributions, 12 months of which should be within the 18-month period immediately preceding the month of involuntary separation. – Angela Celis
