Q and A on SSS Maternity Benefit Part 4

As part of Unsullied Perspective's public service, here is another round of question and answer on SSS maternity benefit package. SSS members who lodged their concerns here were only given advice to the best of the author's knowledge.  SSS members are encouraged to visit your SSS servicing branch to resolve your maternity benefit issues and other concerns.

Q. gud pm ask ko lang po my makukuha pa po ba me maternity last pay ko nung march 2015 then hindi na po me nkapaghulog..due date ko discoming june pwede pb me maghulog?? - Anonymous on 5/27/16

A. If your due date is on June 2016, you need to have at least three months contribution within January to December 2015 to be qualified and you should have notified SSS.

Q. hi ms arlene. Panu po pla kung gusto ko na po bumalik sa work, hindi ko na tatapusin ung 60days leave. 60days parin po ba babayaran sken ng sss? –Anonymous on 5/16/16

A. You are entitled to the 60 days maternity benefit for normal delivery.  That is a benefit given to you to give you time to attend to your newborn and to recuperate fully.  If you wish to return to work earlier than the 60 days period, you should clear it with your employer if you will be compensated for the work done.

Q. Hi, po maam. Ask ko po, ngayong buntis po ako pwede po ba ako makakuha ng maternity loan, kung ang nahulog ko lang ay hanggang nov. 25 2015 to jan. 15 2016. Tnx po maam.

A.  Hindi po loan o utang ang maternity benefit na binibigay ng sss.  Wala po kayong ibabalik na kabayaran sa perang makukuha nyo as maternity benefit.  Privilege po ito ng pagiging member ng SSS. Kung sakali man po na qualified ka, ang perang makukuha mo ay hindi mo na kailangang bayaran dahil hindi po iyon loan o utang.  

Q. good pm po. im faith po. ask ko lang if qualified po ko kumuha ng marternity benefit. last hulog po sa sss ko is nun nov. 2012. if maghulog po ko for jan. dis yr as voluntary till manganak po ko ng oct. may benefit po ko makukuha? thank you po , by Ching Rapas on 5/15/16

A. If October ang due date mo, you need to have at least three months contribution from June 2015 to May 2016. 

Q. Hi, Maam arlene, ask ko po. Paano kung nov. 25,2015 hanggang jan. 15 2016 lang ang nahulog ko sa Sss ko, pwede po ba ako makapag maternity loan, ngayong buntis po ako. Pwede po ba yun.. Tnx po on

Due date ko po sa dec 2016. Ask ko po kung maavail ko pa po ung maternity benefit kung ang contribution ko ay oct.2013 to may 2015. 2Nd baby ko na po ito at ngamit ko na sss maternity ko 8months ago sa 1st baby ko. Thank you po. Pls reply.  Anonymous on 5/14/16

A.      There is a chance that you will be qualified, better submit the MAT1 form as soon as possible at an SSS branch to be sure.

Q. Hi. . ask ko lng sna if pwde ko ma avail mat. Ko due date ko oct last wk. Tapos last year july 2015- jan 2016 lang aq nkapaghulog. Qualify po ako ? Anonymous on 4/28/16

A.  There is a chance you will be qualified since may hulog ka within the prescribed period.  Better submit the MAT1 form as soon as possible.

Q. Hi ms.arlene Ask ko lng po kung makakakuha Ako ng maternity benefits kung hindi nko nkakahulog ngaun ng monthly contribution?.last payment ko po is january 2016..estimated due ko n manganak is aug.2016 nkapag file nko ng mat1 ko.

A.  For as long as you have the required contribution, and since SSS already accepted your submitted MAT1, it means qualified ka naman.  During MAT1 submission, SSS already evaluates if you qualify.

 

Q.  paano kung sa loob ng isang naka-pagloan si member tapos mabuntis sya, makaka-avail pa ba sya ng maternity benefits sa SSS,. please answer. thanks on 4/22/16

A. You can avail the maternity benefit even if you have outstanding loan with SSS for as long as you qualify with all the requirements. But be aware that SSS might deduct the loan arrears from your benefit.  So it is possible that you might or might not get your mat benefit, the good side is you have paid off your loan.

Q. Nakapagfile napo ako ng mat 1,,den jan 2016 me nanganak at diko pa po nakakapunta ulit s sss..ung birth certificate ni baby kakakuha ko lng po last month from the hospital. Yun na rin po ba ang ipapasa s sss? At ilang months po after giving birth kailangan maifile ang mat 2 for maternity benefits? Unknown on 4/17/16

A.      You can still file your claim with SSS, just complete the documents required for submission.

Q. Hi po ask lang kung ang due date ko ay December2016 anun month po dapat ako may hulog..please reply. Thank you po  Anonymous on 4/8/16

A. You need to have contribution from July 2015 to June 2016 for at least three month within that period.

Q. Hi i just wanna ask if a mother can still file her maternity benefit even after she gave birth her baby? Linny Oporto on 3/27/16

A. If you have filed your MAT1 prior to giving birth and you have the required contribution, you can still file your MAT2.

Q. Gus pm.mkkatanggap b ako ng maternity benefit s July po ang due ko.Jan p po ako ng start magbayad.tnx on How to Compute the SSS Maternity Benefit Anonymous on 3/19/16

A. You should have filed your MAT1 prior to giving birth and you should have the required contribution from April 2015 to Mar 2016 for at least three months to qualify.

Q. Paano po magfile ng maternity pagpunta ko sa SSS . 5months pregnant na po ako . kaso 6months lang po hulog ng SSS ko . Thanks po laika on 3/8/16

A.  You can file online or through an SSS branch. You need to file the MAT1 prior to giving birth and the MAT2 after giving birth.

Q. If accepted lang po nakalagay? Okay na po ba yun ?

A.  If your MAT1 has been accepted online, that means that you have successfully submitted your notification.  You need to attach the email notification to your MAT2 as proof that you have submitted your MAT1 online.

My Thoughts on the 2016 Elections

Roughly in three days, we will have the power to choose who among the candidates will lead our beloved Philippines.  At this point, I am still weighing the options, my vote has never been and will never be for sale!  Dahil nilalaan ko yan para sa kinabukasan ng mga anak ko at ng iba pang kabataan.  Ayaw kong mamuhay sila sa kawalan ng pagasa, sa kahirapan, sa takot para sa kanilang buhay at kawalan ng kabuhayan.  I am a witness to real poverty, I know of people who live and die in poverty.  Even if ordinary people like me share a portion of their earnings (middle income earners like me are heavily taxed compared to our ASEAN neighbors, mind you), I know that it will never be enough unless there is a change in the way this country is being governed.  Corruption and lack of political will is deeply rooted in our system.  When I voted in 2010, it was among my wishlist, to have a president who will be brave enough to prune this rotten system.  I guess, President Aquino did his best, pero sabi nga ng kanta-pahiram lang po ng lyrics  ("I did my best, but I guess my best wasn't good enough").  Dahil aminin man natin o hindi, itanggi man natin o hindi, there is still that feeling na meron pa ring pagkukulang when it comes to political will.  Mas madalas nanaig pa rin kung ano ang favorable para sa pamilya, sa kaibigan at business interest.  Saludo ako para sa mga magagandang nagawa ng administration para sa pagunlad ng bansa pero sana nararamdaman ito ng hindi lang ng iilan.  Sana nagawan ng paraan na magkaroon ng disenteng tirahan ang mga taong natutulog sa bangketa, sa ilalam ng tulay...yung mga batang kailangang magtrabaho imbes na nag-aaral para may makain sa araw araw...yung mga lumilipas ang maghapon na walang trabahong inatupag kasi hindi makakuha ng matinong trabaho. Sana hindi tayo nakakaramdam ng takot sa loob at labas ng tahanan natin dahil sa mga krimen na ano nga ba ang pinagmumulan?

How can we be a strong nation if our people lacks the basic resources they need to face life's everyday challenge? How can we be a strong nation kung watak watak tayo? Mukhang mababaw ang logic but come to think of it.  Siguro, magandang ehemplo ang walis tingting  :-) naalala ko lang ang payo ng lola ko. Hindi na siguro naiisip ng mga modern politician iyan dahil vacuum cleaner na ang uso sa panahon ngayon.  Walis tingting na simbolismo ng pagkakaisa at pagtutulungan.

Hinanap at binalikan ko ang dati kong nailathalang artikulo sa pahinang ito tungkol sa nakaraang eleksyon. Yaman din lamang at nagmumuni-muni ako kung sino nga ba ang dapat kong piliin sa mga kandidatong nangangakong magiging maayos ang bansang ito.  At dahil nandito ulit ang mga pangambang hinaharap ,natin tungkol sa "automated election".  Heto pala ang mga naisip ko noong eleksyon ng 2010....

Unripe, Ripe, Rotten: The different phases of the 2010 election

UNRIPE…the pre-election perception

Less than a year before May 10, 2010 election, Comelec entered into a contract with a foreign firm Smartmatic to carry out the project for poll automation. The sealed deal officially marked an important milestone for the government’s thrust for poll automation and indicated a new era in Philippine politics. Such move did not escape critics who mulled over the high probability of a failed election which eventually created uncertainties among the public. As Comelec played an “against-all-odds” role and Smartmatic resolves its own issues with its local partner TIM, the calls for cancellation of the poll automation all the more became louder. The Arroyo administration endured public scrutiny, relentless media probe and doomsayers’ prediction of an impending crisis but palace did not deter from its plan to pursue an automated election for 2010.Comelec and its contractor faced bigger challenges as the project reached its phase by phase implementation, it also created a bigger question if the country is really ready for the poll automation. Different issues as regards the testing and distribution of PCOS, the clustering of precincts, the testing of ballots, the training of BEI, the public awareness campaign, the mock election and all doubt about this new system to be implemented became the talk of the nation which was covered in every news headlines. There were groups who engaged in hunger strike and barricaded in front of the Comelec office to push for the parallel manual counting as they question the integrity of the automated election. Two days before the election, Comelec and Smartmatic-TIM was once again in hot water when manual count did not match the PCOS-generated returns during one of the random testing. This issue heightened the groups demand for parallel manual counting while other groups and even two presidential candidates called for postponement of the election. Comelec and the contractor gave different explanation for such an occurrence, but fairly enough Smartmatic was quick to act on the matter and dispatched the memory card replacement in 76,000 precincts nationwide in less than 48 hours. Comelec responded with a resolution for no parallel manual counting and an affirmation that the May 10 election will push through as planned although most groups perceived the move for automated election as still “unripe for the picking”.

RIPE…the election outcome

The big day event came and as perceived, problem as regards the introduction of a new system was evident such as disenfranchised voters, PCOS that bogged down, lengthened waiting time as a result of precinct clustering, rejected vote due to strict ballot scan process by PCOS machines and add to that the perpetual problem of vote-buying and other desperate shocking schemes perpetrated by politicians who refused to be out of the limelight.

The eleven hours allotted time from 7AM to 6PM for casting of votes was extended by Comelec for another hour up to 7PM to address the prolonged waiting time while Smartmatic deployed service technician and reserved PCOS machines to either troubleshoot or replace non-functional ones. After passing through the rigor of this whole new poll process and almost two hours after the closing of precincts, election results started to be transmitted to the central server which gave Comelec the chance to have a televised conference to provide update to the public and release an official partial count of the election. It was a total different scenario from the previous elections wherein teachers were subjected to a hard-days’ work and a stressful and tedious nights and days of manual counting. It is also evident that people were more vigilant of the election process and actively participated in this exercise as Comelec reported almost 75% turnout of voters despite the pre-election glitches that took place.

Then days after the Philippines’ first ever automated election, it was such an uplifting experience to see a different political landscape being carved for the country. It was also a relief to see good news running through TV, radio, newspaper and internet feeds, for once in my life I feel proud of the Philippines thus I cannot help but put into account some news stories here. It is not everyday that I got to read positive reports about the country much more about the dramatic change in the country’s political arena that was tainted with blood, violence and deceit. Presidential candidates who lost in the race like Gilbert Teodoro, Manuel Villar and Dick Gordon were gentleman enough to quickly accept defeat that showed their confidence on the integrity of the automated counting, a move that etched a new picture of well-cultured personalities. The United States, European Union and foreign community conveyed their congratulatory message to the Philippine Government and to all Filipinos for the peaceful and successful execution of the automated election. There is also a noticeable drop in election-related violence, as AFP and PNP reported.The positive pronouncements brought constructive advantage for Philippine business sector as peso gained strength over foreign currencies. The shortened counting process resulted in swift proclamation of winners in the local level which could be translated into savings in energy, effort and money as unnecessary expenses were considerably cut down which could have otherwise been spent if we were still into manual counting. So far, so good! Although we were all just starting into the process of assimilation in this computerized election, the fruit of everyone’s decent labor for poll automation has been ripe after all!

Rotten…the post-election scenario

The tons of garbage from the election, win or lose the candidates has the obligation to clean up their mess, it isn’t nice to see your names and faces hanging around just anywhere. To all losers, if you can’t be the winner in the election, just become a champion for the environment. And to all winning candidates, you now have every power to make this country a greener and cleaner place otherwise you also need to be thrown out of the garbage.

Electoral protest and claims of massive cheating - life is really like that when you are at the losing end, you always have this feeling of being deceived, you have every right to voice out your concern but please not to the point of being scandalous and violent, things can be resolved in a civilized manner, take some lessons from the three gentlemen Gibo, Manny and Dick.

Senate and Congress not yet starting with their official canvassing - Wow, isn’t that ironic?We all seem to hang in the balance because the two most important positions in the land are still yet to be proclaimed. Senate and Congress will convene only when they reach a quorum, if that is the case it only defeats the purpose of an automated election. So how long shall the nation wait?Just don’t make it too long and don’t make it too slow. Don’t make this country a laughing stock please.

Fear for constitutional crisis brought on by outgoing administration’s “overnight appointment” and incoming administration's refusal to recognize them. Well, well, well…she is still the president up to June 30, what can anyone do? She promised for a smooth transition of the presidency, let us just hold on to that promise and give her a graceful exit. Obviously she is designing a road for herself, whether people will follow her on that road will all depend on them.

Threat of impeachment against President-apparent Noynoy Aquino for refusing to recognize Renato Corona’s appointment as Chief Justice - Mr. Aquino hasn’t even seated yet in Malacanang for him to be threatened with impeachment. Give the guy a President’s welcome that he deserves, he was voted President by a large population, we all need to respect the voice of the people.

The outgoing president is making her late plans come into fruition for the remaining days of her term, whether that will be left to rot or be preserved will be up to the incoming president. A reminder to the incoming administration, please don’t forget to prune the rotten system and plant a new seed that will yield first-class produce.

Unsullied Perspective's 2015 Year in Review

We opened our 2015 with Unsullied Perspective's 2014 Year in Review.  With the resumption of work and classes for that year, we were greeted with transportation fare hike so we provided you the Commuters' Guide to New MRT/LRT 2015 Fares that you can use for budgeting your family’s transportation allowance if you are using those train lines in your daily commute.  

Since it was the start of the year and almost everyone was in the mood for planning, we created a planning tool to get your finances on track with 2015 Financial Calendar Planner.  The month of January afforded us a week-long vacation to give way to papal visit in the Philippines.  The Roman Catholic Church’s Leader had provided spiritual relief for all our down-trodden Catholic fellowmen especially those who were badly affected by typhoon Yolanda.  With that, we complied the Seven Lessons Gathered from the Papal Visit in the Philippines to remind us of valuable teachings that we can apply in our day-to-day lives whatever is one’s religious affiliation. 

In February and March, we continued our gift-giving advocacy and announced our January and February winners of our Monthly Fun Treat.  Due to numerous queries about our post on SSS maternity benefit, we decided to have a dedicated post answering our reader’s comments and questions about that topic thus we had our Q & A on SSS Maternity Benefit Part 1.  Our blog also reached another milestone in March when we had our very first Nuffnang Cash Out in 2015. 

We also continued our undertaking to be warriors for the environment through the Global Citizen Earth Day and Earth Hour campaigns.  our readers’ queries about SSS that we had our Part 2 and Part 3 of our Q & A.  For some reason we felt we missed so much in the summer months thus we created a to-do list with our plans for the month of May.  Coincidentally, we released our July to December Financial Calendar Planner as we promised at the start of the year.  We were too happy to receive our check in May that we decided to divide the money to our different advocacies where part of that went to donation and to our fun treat, check out how we spent our Nuffnang Cashout. 

In June we made a repost on Earthquakes and Disaster Preparedness to inform you my dear readers on what to do in case of disasters.  Around that time, several news of networking and investment scams hugged the headlines thus we felt the need to remind you on how to protect your money and things to consider before you invest. I really hope that it reached many readers as it is too disheartening to see people who lost their hard-earned money and their chance of a good life because of those greedy souls.

Sometime in August we made an article about the steps on how to file for an SSS Salary Loan since we received queries about that. In preparation for the 2016 National General Election where we will be voting our next country leaders, we informed you about Comelec’s mandatory biometrics capturing which is required before you can vote in the coming election.   

In September, most of us living in Metro Manila suffered from horrendous traffic like it was Two Miles, Two Hours Traffic every single day.  Everything seemed to be at a standstill when we were caught in it. 

On the same month our blog reached its 10^th birthday so we posted the article of our Monthly Fun Treat Closing and 15th Anniversary Announcement where we made a winners list recap of our 12 months of fun treat and we also made an announcement of our soon-to-be published book.

The month of October was the deadline for claiming the prize for our Fun Treat.  As some of our winners did not claim their prize, we decided to give the equivalent money value for donation to Philippine Red Cross.  At least it served its purpose, it was meant to be shared anyway. We wish to remember how we were swayed with stories about love, hope, values and the Filipino culture that was the reason we also got hooked in Eat Bulaga’s Kalyeserye featuring the Aldub loveteam and the three grandmas.  It also reminded us about waiting for that right moment, about letting destiny work its way “at the right time”. 

We missed posting articles for November as it was a very busy month for us where we gave way to personal dealings.  Planning for a family travel abroad was too taxing that we devoted much of our time in it making sure that it would be a worry-free vacation.  True enough, we were able to relax and had a good time in Singapore.  We did not only had a good time, we were as well inspired and motivated when we came back.  That was the very reason we brought home essential lessons from Singapore.

In all, we had a very full and memorable 2015. Cheers to all the good times and we will forever be grateful for everything.  Looking forward to a fruitful 2016.

Free Downloadable 2016 Financial Calendar Planner

Happy New Year Everyone!  I hope that you had a wonderful celebration with your loved ones.  We just bid goodbye to 2015 and here we are again planning for 2016.  I also wished that you accomplished most of the plans and budget that you wrote in your 2015 calendar planner.  It is best to have something to follow when it comes to what we want to achieve for the year.  To help you with your planning, here again is a simple calendar planner that you can use.  This free printable 2016 calendar planner is very convenient and easy to use. You can put this wherever most convenient for you.  Again, I made only the first half of the year (January to June 2016) so it will be easier to keep track of your plan.  I will publish the July to December of the calendar in time for the next semester so check it out.  Meanwhile, here is the copy of the 2016 Financial Calendar Planner.  You can get and print it here in this link for free.

This 2016 Financial Calendar Planner includes tracking of your savings and expenses such as contributions for SSS (Social Security System), PAGIBIG  (or Home Development Mutual Fund - HDMF) and PhilHealth (Philippine Health Insurance).  If you are an employed member, these are mandatory deductions from your salary so it is easier to track.

However, if you are a voluntary/individually paying/self-employed member, you need to tick the appropriate space to indicate that you have already paid for your contribution so you can track your monthly premium payments.  We also included recording of you weekly money challenge.  The weekly money challenge is much like the 52 week money challenge but with some deviations.  You can keep track of the schedule when you should have already deposited your savings in the bank as provided in the calendar.  Simply highlight or check the date on the provided boxes if you have done so.  At the end of the month, you have the option to record your total monthly savings in the space provided.

There is also a calendar and the non-working holiday schedule so you can keep account of the  correct dates when you should make your transactions in the bank or government offices.

You can put down notes in the Other Reminders part should you wish to put the dates of other important transactions that you need to track such as the following:

1. Renewal of your business permit (mayor's permit,  BIR annual registration)

2. Renewal of licenses (LTO registration/driver's license)

3. Payment for insurance (home, car, etc)

4. Tax (real estate tax, income tax, etc) and other things that have direct impact on your finances.

We have also included tracking payments for your electricity and water bill since non-payment of those utilities usually add up to your expenses if not paid on time.  You simply tick the space provided to indicate payment for the particular month. 

Happy 2016 planning and budgeting!