SSS ACOP: Confirm Yearly or Your Pension Stops
Social Security System · benefits
Quick answer
ACOP is the yearly confirmation that keeps an SSS pension running. Miss it and the pension is automatically suspended 1 month after your birth month, and the pensioner is cancelled after 2 years of suspension. Comply by facial authentication, email, courier, video conference or in person.
Every figure on this page is from Social Security System's own published documents.
Last verified 2 sources, listed below
Comply to the ACOP Program1 · ACOP thru Facial Authentication with Liveness Verification2. PHGuides is independent and not affiliated with SSS.
ACOP, the Annual Confirmation of Pensioners Program, is the yearly check that keeps an SSS pension running. It exists under Republic Act No. 11199, the Social Security Act of 2018, and SSS points to its circular dated 21 December 2023 for the revised guidelines.
Most people find this page because a pension has already stopped. The two dates that decide that are below.
The clock, and why it is your birth month
| Event | When |
|---|---|
| Pension automatically suspended | 1 month after the month of birth of the pensioner, or of the deceased member |
| Pensioner automatically cancelled | 2 years from the month of suspension |
| Pension resumed after late compliance | Within 2 months from the date of compliance |
Two things follow from that, and both matter.
Your deadline is personal. It is keyed to your birth month, not to a national cut-off, so no single calendar date applies to every pensioner.
Late compliance is not a lost pension, up to a point. On resumption, SSS credits all recalled pensions from the depository bank, if any, and all accrued pensions, to the pensioner’s account. The money is held, not forfeited. That protection ends at the 2-year cancellation.
What that looks like on a calendar
The rule is keyed to your birth month, so the dates below are arithmetic on SSS’s two published periods rather than dates SSS prints. 2 years of suspension is 24 months, and that is the point of no return.
| Birth month | Pension suspended from | Cancelled by |
|---|---|---|
| January 2026 | February 2026 | February 2028 |
| April 2026 | May 2026 | May 2028 |
| August 2026 | September 2026 | September 2028 |
| December 2026 | January 2027 | January 2029 |
Comply anywhere inside that 24 months and the withheld pensions are credited back. Miss the whole window and the pensioner record is cancelled, which is a different and much harder problem than a suspension.
Who must comply
| Pensioner | Required? |
|---|---|
| Retirement pensioner in the Philippines, 80 years old and above | Yes, starting March 2024 |
| Retirement pensioner in the Philippines, below 80 | Only in certain circumstances, as determined and on notification by SSS |
| Retirement pensioner residing abroad | Yes |
| Total disability pensioner | Yes |
| Death or survivor pensioner | Yes |
| Dependent child under guardianship | Yes |
The form comes first
Before choosing a channel, download the ACOP Form for your case.
- Annual Confirmation of Pensioners, for a retirement or permanent total disability pensioner.
- Annual Confirmation of Pensioners, for a surviving legal spouse pensioner.
- Annual Confirmation of Pensioners, for a representative payee of a dependent minor or incapacitated child.
Every way to comply, in the Philippines
| Channel | What it involves |
|---|---|
| Facial authentication | From the SSS website, using PhilSys. No branch visit |
| Branch email | Subject line format ACOP Compliance, Pensioner's Name |
| Mail or courier | Addressed to the SS branch office |
| In person | At your depository bank, or the Member Services Section of any SSS branch or service office |
| Through a representative | At the Member Services Section of any branch or service office |
| Medical route | Total disability pensioners, at the Medical Evaluation Section or PE Center |
| Home visit | On request, available to all types of pensioners |
For email, mail or courier you send a duly accomplished ACOP Form and one primary ID card or at least two secondary ID cards.
The newspaper photo rule
This is the requirement that trips people up, and the timing is strict.
A chest-level photo or snapshot of the pensioner holding a current newspaper where the headline and date of publication are prominently displayed, or with a background of a news crawler or ticker on the TV showing the current news headline and date.
The date shown must be the same as the date of submission for email compliance, or within the same month as the date of submission for mail or courier. A photo taken well in advance will not do.
Facial authentication, step by step
SSS’s own sequence, which needs a National ID.
- On the SSS website landing page, start the facial authentication service.
- Confirm you are registered in the National ID System, then tick the box on the Data Sharing Consent and Undertaking page.
- Enter your SS Number and date of birth.
- Confirm your name. Survivorship or death pensioners also confirm whether they are remarried or not.
- On the PhilSys authentication page, read the instructions, then take a live selfie.
- On success a confirmation page is displayed. Screenshot or print it for your records.
If you are abroad
| Channel | Detail |
|---|---|
| Video conference | Over MS Teams. Request an appointment by email at ofw.relations@sss.gov.ph or the corporate email of a foreign representative office, then wait for SSS to confirm the ACOP-VC appointment |
| To a Foreign Representative Office or the OFW-Contact Services Section, same subject format | |
| Mail or courier | To the OFW-Contact Services Section, International Operations Group, 11th Floor, SSS Main Office, Diliman, Quezon City 1100, or to the nearest Foreign Representative Office |
A total disability pensioner abroad also sends a recent Medical Certificate from their attending physician or any government physician, showing complete physical examination findings and current medical status, plus a certified true copy of any laboratory result done within 1 year from the birth month.
Booking an appointment
Through the SSS Member Portal, choose Compliance to Annual Confirmation of Pensioners (ACOP), then either ACOP through video conference or ACOP through over the counter, and complete Region, Branch, Appointment Date, Appointment Time and any concerns. Check for the confirmation message afterwards. Pensioners abroad select ACOP through video conference and OFW Contact Services Section.
What this page does not cover
SSS publishes no fee for ACOP on the pages read for this guide, and none is stated here. This page also does not carry the ACOP form’s line-by-line instructions, the list of accepted primary and secondary IDs, the select depository banks that accept compliance, or the branch and foreign representative office addresses, all of which SSS maintains separately. The valid IDs guide covers Philippine government identification generally.
For inquiries SSS gives the hotline 1455 and the ACOP email address
usssaptayo@sss.gov.ph.
Related
The retirement pension guide covers the benefit ACOP protects, the SSS branches and hotline guide covers where to comply in person, and the death and funeral benefit guide covers the survivor pension that also carries an ACOP duty.
Frequently asked questions
- What is ACOP?
- The Annual Confirmation of Pensioners Program is the yearly reporting of pensioners to SSS to ensure continuous payment of their monthly pensions, subject to continuing eligibility under Republic Act No. 11199, the Social Security Act of 2018.
- Who has to comply with ACOP?
- Retirement pensioners in the Philippines who are 80 years old and above, starting March 2024; retirement pensioners residing abroad; total disability pensioners; death or survivor pensioners; and dependent children under guardianship. Retirement pensioners in the Philippines below 80 may also be required in certain circumstances, on SSS notification.
- What happens if I miss it?
- The monthly pension is automatically suspended 1 month after the month of birth of the pensioner, or of the deceased member. If the suspension runs for 2 years from the month of suspension, the pensioner is automatically cancelled.
- How soon does the pension resume after I comply?
- Within 2 months from the date of compliance. All recalled pensions from the depository bank, if any, and all accrued pensions are credited to the pensioner's account, so the suspended months are not lost if you comply in time.
- Can I do ACOP without leaving home?
- Yes. SSS offers ACOP through Facial Authentication with Liveness Verification, done from the SSS website using PhilSys, and it also accepts compliance by email, mail or courier. Pensioners abroad can use a video conference over MS Teams.
- Why is a photo with a newspaper required?
- For email, mail or courier compliance, SSS asks for a chest-level photo of the pensioner holding a current newspaper with the headline and date visible, or with a TV news ticker showing the current headline and date. The date must match the submission date for email, or fall within the same month for mail or courier.
- What if the pensioner cannot travel or is confined?
- A home visit can be requested by a letter signed by the pensioner, a relative or a guardian stating the reason, with a copy of one primary ID or two secondary IDs and a sketch of the place. If the pensioner is confined in a retirement home, hospital, nursing facility, penitentiary, correctional institution or rehabilitation center, a certification from that institution is required.
- Is there a fee for ACOP?
- SSS publishes no fee for ACOP compliance on the pages read for this guide, and none is stated here.