SSS NAGPALABAS NG P178-M UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS

NAGPALABAS ang Social Security Sys­tem (SSS) ng P178 million na halaga ng mga benepisyo noong 2019 sa ilalim ng unemployment bene­fit o involuntary separation insurance program nito, na isa sa pinakamahalagang nilalaman ng Republic Act 11199 o ang Social Security Act of 2018 na naging epektibo noong Marso 5, 2019.

Ayon kay SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Aurora C. Ignacio, ang pen­sion fund ay tumanggap ng 15,151 unemployment ben­efit applications noong 2019 kung saan 14,895 dito ay inaprubahan at katumbas ng P178 million na ipinalabas na benepisyo.

Ang unemployment benefit program ang pinakabago sa mga benepisyo na ipinag­kakaloob ng SSS kung saan ang qualified SSS members na ‘involuntarily separated’ sa trabaho ay makakakuha ng cash allowance na katumbas ng dalawang beses ng kan­yang average monthly salary credit.

Magmula nang ipatupad noong Agosto 2019, karami­han sa unemployment ben­efit applications ay tinanggap noong Oktubre na may 4,596 approved applications na may katumbas na P54.61 million na ipinalabas sa qualified members.

“We are hoping that with the newest benefit, we will help more SSS members during times of unexpected job loss. The program was patterned after the unem­ployment benefit program in European countries. Our primary objective is to assist them while they are look­ing for another job after they were involuntarily separated from their work. They may also use the benefit for their retooling and capacity building to find a better job or work that will suit their skills,” sabi ni Ignacio.

Upang mag-qualify para sa unemployment benefit, ang mga miyembro ay hindi dapat hihigit sa 60 taong gulang sa panahon ng invol­untary separation, maliban sa underground at surface mineworkers, at racehorse jockeys na ang edad ay hindi lalagpas sa 50 at 55, ayon sa pakakasunod.

“The unemployment ben­efit can be claimed only once every three years starting from the date of involuntary separation from work. If two or more compensable contin­gencies occurred within the same period, SSS will only pay the highest benefit from the recorded contingencies. They are given one year from the time of their separation to file for their benefit claim,” dagdag pa ni Ignacio.

Ang member-applicant ay kinakailangang nakapag­bayad na ng hindi bababa sa 36 monthly contributions, kung saan 12 buwan dito ay dapat na nabayaran sa loob ng 18-month period bago ang buwan ng involuntary separation.

Ipinaalala ni Ignacio sa unemployment benefit appli­cants na upang mag-qualify para sa benepisyo, ang ra­son para sa separation ay isa dapat sa mga sumusunod: installation of labor-saving devices; redundancy; re­trenchment; closure or cessa­tion of operation; at disease or illness of the employee whose continued employ­ment is prohibited by law or is prejudicial to his or her co-employee’s health.

“Further, separation from employment because of em­ployee’s serious misconduct, willful disobedience to law­ful orders, gross and habitual neglect of duties, fraud or willful breach of trust, com­mission of a crime or offense and analogous cases like abandonment, gross ineffi­ciency, and disloyalty/con­flict of interest will not qualify the employee to receive the unemployment benefit.”

Ang mga aplikante ay inaatasang magsumite ng DOLE-issued certification na nagsasaad ng nature at petsa ng involuntary separation, gayundin ng Notice of Ter­mination mula sa employer o Affidavit of Termination of Employment.

Bukod sa government-issued documents, ang mga aplikante ay dapat ding mag­pakita ng original at photo­copy ng isang primary ID card o document o kung wala nito, anumang dalawang ID cards o documents, kapwa may signature at kahit isang may litrato sa anumang SSS local branch o foreign office.