SOCIAL Security System (SSS) President and CEO Michael G. Regino announced last Monday that P53.27 billion maternity benefit was released to 1.91 million members from 2016 to 2021.
Regino explained in a statement that the “significant jump” in disbursement was first noted in 2019 following the implementation of Republic Act (RA) 11210 (Expanded Maternity Leave Law). The SSS official said the highest peak of releases was recorded in 2021 amounting to P13.90 billion.
“The SSS, as a conduit agency gave its full support to this endeavor through continuous disbursement of maternity benefits to our qualified female members since the law was implemented in March 2019,” Regino was quoted in a statement as saying.
The SSS CEO added the pension fund manager has also “recalibrated and simplified” the application procedures through online submission of maternity benefit application for members and reimbursement for employers through the My.SSS portal.
Under RA 11210, Regino pointed out that the maternity leave was extended from 60 days (for normal delivery) and/or 78 days (caesarean section delivery) to 105 days. SSS female members may also avail of this benefit, regardless of the frequency, provided that the minimum of three qualifying contributions from the 12-month period prior the semester of childbirth or miscarriage/emergency termination of pregnancy has been met and were not paid on or after the semester of contingency.
The SSS executive explained that with RA 11210, “the increased amount of maternity benefit and number of maternity leave assisted our female members with their financial needs, providing extra time to recover from childbirth and, most importantly, to spend quality time with their newborn babies.”