SSS Sickness Benefit: 90% of Your Daily Salary Credit
Social Security System · benefits
Quick answer
The SSS sickness benefit pays 90% of your average daily salary credit for each day you cannot work, after at least 4 days of confinement. You need 3 months of contributions in the 12 months before the semester of sickness. The cap is 120 days a year.
Last verified
Where these figures come from
About these figures: the numbers below come from SSS's official published sources: Social Security System | Sickness Benefit (https://www.sss.gov.ph/sickness-benefit/, retrieved 2026-08-31); Social Security System | SSS Contribution Table (https://www.sss.gov.ph/sss-contribution-table/, retrieved 2026-08-31). Agencies change fees and rates without notice, so confirm with SSS before you rely on them. Last verified: 2026-08-31.
The SSS sickness benefit is a daily cash allowance for each day you cannot work because of sickness or injury. It pays 90% of your average daily salary credit, which is a deliberate 10-point step down from the maternity benefit’s 100%.
Who qualifies
Four conditions, and all four have to hold.
| # | Condition |
|---|---|
| 1 | Unable to work due to sickness or injury and confined in a hospital or at home for at least 4 days |
| 2 | At least 3 months of contributions within the 12-month period immediately preceding the semester of sickness or injury |
| 3 | Has notified the employer, if employed, or SSS if self-employed, voluntary, an OFW, or separated from employment |
| 4 | Has used up all current company sick leave with pay for the current year, if employed, except sea-based OFWs |
Condition 4 is the one employed members forget. The SSS benefit starts where company leave runs out, not alongside it.
How the amount is computed
The method matches the maternity benefit’s up to the last step, where the 90% multiplier appears.
- Exclude the semester of contingency. A semester is 2 consecutive quarters ending in the quarter of sickness; a quarter is 3 consecutive months ending in March, June, September or December.
- Count 12 months backwards from the month immediately before that semester.
- Add the 6 highest monthly salary credits in that window.
- Divide by 180 to get the average daily salary credit.
- Multiply the ADSC by 90% to get the daily sickness allowance.
- Multiply by the approved number of days.
Contributions paid within or after the semester of contingency are not counted. Under Circular No. 2020-032 dated 24 November 2020, from January 2021 the SS contribution includes the Workers’ Investment and Savings Program, and Regular SSS Program benefits are computed on contributions up to a ₱20,000 MSC. SSS repeats the point directly: contributions and benefits under the Regular SS and EC Programs are computed on the member’s MSC up to a maximum of ₱20,000, and contributions on MSC above ₱20,000 go to the MPF and are credited to the member’s individual account.
What it pays, by salary credit
Assuming the same monthly salary credit across the 6 highest months. This is arithmetic on the published formula, not an SSS quotation.
| Monthly salary credit | Total of the 6 highest | Average daily salary credit | Daily allowance at 90% | 10 days | 30 days | 120 days, the annual cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ₱5,000 | ₱30,000 | ₱166.67 | ₱150.00 | ₱1,500 | ₱4,500 | ₱18,000 |
| ₱10,000 | ₱60,000 | ₱333.33 | ₱300.00 | ₱3,000 | ₱9,000 | ₱36,000 |
| ₱15,000 | ₱90,000 | ₱500.00 | ₱450.00 | ₱4,500 | ₱13,500 | ₱54,000 |
| ₱20,000 | ₱120,000 | ₱666.67 | ₱600.00 | ₱6,000 | ₱18,000 | ₱72,000 |
The ₱20,000 row is the ceiling of the computation, not the ceiling of what people pay. A member on the ₱35,000 MSC contributes ₱1,750.00 a month but their sickness benefit is still worked out on ₱20,000. The SSS contribution table sets out the split.
The two caps
| Cap | What SSS publishes |
|---|---|
| Per calendar year | 120 days. Any unused portion cannot be carried forward or added to the following year’s allowable compensable days |
| Per illness | 240 days. If the sickness or injury persists beyond 240 days, the claim is considered a disability claim |
At a ₱20,000 MSC the annual cap is worth a projected ₱72,000, and the 240-day per-illness limit ₱144,000 across two calendar years, before the claim converts to disability.
The notification deadlines
This is where most claims are lost, and SSS is specific about it.
| Situation | Who notifies | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Home confinement, employed | Employee to employer | Within 5 calendar days after the start of confinement |
| Home confinement, employed | Employer to SSS | Within 5 calendar days after receipt from the employee |
| Hospital confinement, employed | Employee to employer | Notification is not necessary |
| Hospital confinement, employed | Employer to SSS | Within 1 year from the date of hospital discharge |
| Home confinement, self-employed, voluntary or OFW | Member to SSS | Within 5 calendar days after the start of confinement |
| Hospital confinement, self-employed, voluntary or OFW | Member to SSS | Within 1 year from the date of hospital discharge |
| Reimbursement application | Employer to SSS | Within 1 year from the start of confinement, or from the date of hospital discharge |
What late filing costs. SSS states that failure to observe the notification rule is a ground for the reduction or denial of the claim, and that if a member notifies SSS beyond the prescribed 5-day period, the confinement is deemed to have started no earlier than the 5th day immediately preceding the date of notification. In plain terms, days before that window stop being payable.
How to file
Employed members. Notify the employer immediately and submit a Medical Certificate, form Med 01688, showing the complete diagnosis, the recommended number of days of sick leave including recuperation, the clinic address, a contact number, and the physician’s licence number written legibly, plus certified true copies of supporting medical documents. The employer then notifies SSS online through its My.SSS account. SSS states that over-the-counter submission of documents is no longer necessary.
Self-employed, voluntary, OFW, non-working spouse and separated members. Log in to My.SSS, go to the Benefits tab and select Sickness Benefit, fill in the online application form, upload the required documents, review, tick the certification checkbox and submit. Note the transaction number. The application goes to the Medical Evaluation Center and the result is emailed.
Employers filing a reimbursement (SBRA). Log in to the employer’s My.SSS account, go to Benefits, select Submit SS Sickness Benefit Reimbursement Application, search using the CRN or SS number and the Claim Reference Number or date filed of the approved sickness notification, complete the details, certify and submit.
One reminder in that flow matters to employees: the employee must confirm or certify receipt of the advance payment within 7 working days of the SSS email notification, either through the link in that email or through their own My.SSS account. If the employee confirms non-receipt or fails to act in time, the reimbursement is rejected, and the employer must refile it as a new transaction. Confirmation is not required for claims tagged Separated, AWOL, or deceased member.
Exempt from online filing. Three kinds of claim must still be filed over the counter at an SSS branch or Foreign Representative Office: a denied claim reconsidered for payment, an unclaimed benefit of a deceased member, and an unclaimed reimbursement of an inactive, closed, terminated or retired employer.
What this page does not cover
SSS does not publish, on the sickness benefit page, the processing time from filing to payment, the medical evaluation criteria, the list of compensable illnesses, or the disability benefit rules a claim converts into after 240 days. None of those are stated here.
Related
The SSS maternity benefit guide covers the 100% allowance that bars a sickness claim for the same period. The SSS contribution table explains the salary credit behind the ADSC, and the SSS retirement pension guide covers what happens to an overlapping sickness benefit when a final claim is settled.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does the SSS sickness benefit pay?
- 90% of your average daily salary credit for each approved day. On a ₱20,000 monthly salary credit that is ₱600.00 a day, or ₱18,000 for 30 days.
- How many days do I need to be sick?
- At least 4 days of confinement, either in a hospital or at home. Fewer than 4 days does not qualify.
- How many contributions do I need?
- At least 3 months of contributions within the 12-month period immediately preceding the semester of sickness or injury. For self-employed, voluntary and OFW members, SSS counts only contributions paid before the semester of contingency.
- Do I have to use my company sick leave first?
- Yes, if you are employed. SSS requires that you have used up all current company sick leave with pay for the current year, except for sea-based OFWs.
- What is the maximum I can claim?
- 120 days in one calendar year. Any unused portion cannot be carried forward to the next year. And the benefit is not paid for more than 240 days on account of the same illness; past that, the claim is treated as a disability claim.
- How quickly must I notify?
- For home confinement, the employee notifies the employer within 5 calendar days of the start of confinement, and the employer notifies SSS within 5 calendar days of receiving it. For hospital confinement, no employee notification is needed and the employer has 1 year from the date of discharge.
- What happens if I notify late?
- SSS states that failure to observe the notification rule is a ground for reduction or denial of the claim, and that a late notification means the confinement is deemed to have started no earlier than the 5th day immediately preceding the date of notification.
- Can I claim sickness and maternity for the same period?
- No. SSS states that the grant of a maternity benefit bars recovery of the sickness benefit under RA 11199 for the same period.
More SSS guides
Sources
- Social Security System | Sickness Benefit, retrieved
- Social Security System | SSS Contribution Table, retrieved