SSS Contributions for Household helpers

This article is dedicated to my beloved yaya, Ms. Luzvisminda P. De Borja who took care of me since I was in diapers.

Let me share you this story so that a lot of people may learn from this. I made my yaya covered under the Social Security System (SSS) so that she can have a taste of its benefits. As a household employer, I am the one paying her monthly contributions at the SSS ever since September 1997. Currently, she is now 70 years old and qualified for pension benefits under SSS Law. When my yaya applied for her pension benefits this January 2011, she got dismayed because there were a lot of documents and requirements that must be complied.

I am aware that as a household employer, I am under obligation to pay the monthly contributions of my household employees as this is required by law. What makes it frustrating is that I was not properly coached by the Social Security System on the different documents and schedule of payments that I am supposed to fulfill. With these oversight, I am required to start from scratch, submit the proper documents and pay additional fees for deficiency in payments plus a penalty fee for non-compliance of legal requirements. I do not mind preparing the documents myself or paying the required fees, as long as my yaya would get the pension benefits she deserves. I am writing this in case there are household employers out there who may have a noble intention of covering their household employees under the SSS Law.

This article will serve as a lesson to everyone who will employ household helpers. Under the Batas Kasambahay Act of 2004 which will soon take effect, every household employer shall cover all his household employees under the SSS, with penal provisions of a fine and imprisonment in case of non-compliance.

The first thing a household employer should do is to require his household employee seek an SSS Number at the SSS branch where the household employer resides. Accordingly, a household employee can be covered under SSS Law and shall be entitled to the benefits if the covered household employee is under 60 years of age.

Once the household employee acquires his SSS number, the employer may now start paying the monthly contributions for the benefit of the covered household employee. It must be remembered that the monthly contributions of a household employer to SSS for the benefit of his household employee will depend on the monthly compensation that is payable to the covered employee. Accordingly, the amount of monthly contribution paid by the household employer shall be based on the Schedule of monthly contributions, a copy of which may be obtained from any SSS branch.

The next thing to be done is for the household employer to pay the covered household employee at the SSS or any preferred banks accredited by SSS. Form R-5 (Employer Contribution Form) must be properly filled out by the household employer while paying the SSS monthly contribution.

Finally, a document called Form R-3 (Contribution Collection List) must be filed and submitted by the household employer at the end of every quarter. Such document shall be filed and submitted to the SSS branch where the household employer actually resides.

Those are the basic requirements of making household helpers covered under the Social Security System. I am hoping that with the information I have shared, you will not experience the hardship that I encountered.