2022 has passed and happened; resolutions are made new and the year has set in. This is the cold season of beginnings and renewed vigor, and 2023 has already changed many constants in our lives. One of these many changes is the new schedule for Social Security (SS) contributions effective as of January 2023.
Under Circular no. 2022-033, pursuant to Republic Act 11199, there is a provision to increase the Regular SS contributions on the Employer share from 8.5% in the previous year to 9.5% currently.
What is the Social Security System?
As commonly known, Social Security System (SSS) is a government-owned and -controlled corporation providing insurance programs to persons employed in private companies, self-employed entrepreneurs, Overseas Filipino Workers, those who earn income and their beneficiaries, and those who opt to voluntarily contribute to receive the services of SSS. These insurance programs may include but is not limited to:
- Sickness Benefit and Reimbursement
- Maternity Benefit
- Retirement Benefit
- Disability Benefit
- Death Benefit
- Funeral Benefit
- Unemployment Benefit
These benefits are explained further in the SSS website and in their official Youtube channel, which can be viewed at this link.
Republic Act 11199
Under the Republic Act 11199, otherwise known as the “Social Security Act of 2018”, SSS implements the rate of contributions and their corresponding minimum and maximum monthly salary credits, in accordance with the following schedule effective January of the year of implementation as follows:
| Year of Implementation | Contribution Rate | Share | Monthly Salary Credit | ||
| Employer | Employee | Minimum | Maximum | ||
| 2019 | 12% | 8% | 4% | ₱ 2,000.00 | ₱ 20,000.00 |
| 2020 | 12% | 8% | 4% | ₱ 2,000.00 | ₱ 20,000.00 |
| 2021 | 13% | 8.5% | 4.5% | ₱ 3,000.00 | ₱ 25,000.00 |
| 2022 | 13% | 8.5% | 4.5% | ₱ 3,000.00 | ₱ 25,000.00 |
| 2023 | 14% | 9.5% | 4.5% | ₱ 4,000.00 | ₱ 30,000.00 |
| 2024 | 14% | 9.5% | 4.5% | ₱ 4,000.00 | ₱ 30,000.00 |
| 2025 | 15% | 10% | 5% | ₱ 5,000.00 | ₱ 35,000.00 |
As illustrated, Republic Act 11199 prescribes a progressive rate of contribution to account for both inflation and economic necessity. Upon the start of 2023, income earners will continue to contribute the same rate as since 2021 with the Regular SS Contribution Rate Table below:
In example, a person employed and compensated at ₱ 18,000 per month would have to pay ₱ 810.00 which shall be charged to their salary.
In contrast, employers are now required to contribute at a higher percentage share than in 2022, with a 1% increase since then. In the same above example, the employer is now accountable to ₱ 1,710.00 contribution in the Regular SS Rate.
The Expanded Table
We usually know the SS Contributions table that is composed only of the monthly salary range and the employer and employee range. The table provided above is expanded as to complete the probable contributions any employee may want to know about and/or seek to opt for an accelerated retirement and retirement fund.
To summarize, the Employee’s Compensation (EC) Program is an SSS insurance program that guarantees benefits and services to employees and their dependents upon work-related illness or death. The Employees’ Compensation Commission (ECC) since then expanded this in September 2020 to Self-Employed members of the SSS Contribution Program. This is an additional ₱ 30.00 to the employer share if they have opted to be part of the EC Program.
The other addition to the table is the Workers’ Investment and Savings Program (WISP), which is an individual retirement savings plan which is added to the individual’s contributions for faster building of their retirement fund. Only those SSS members with monthly salary credit higher than ₱ 20,000.00 are covered with the WISP (applicable as of January 2021). For visualization, an SS contributing employee with ₱ 21,000.00 monthly earnings would then need to contribute an additional ₱ 45.00, with the remaining ₱ 95.00 charged against their respective employer.
The expanded SS, EC, and WISP Contributions table is an easy access document you may elect to print to keep track of the contributions and to make sure that they are properly remitted as part of your salary. The document is in this web address.
The expanded SS, EC, and WISP Contributions table is an easy access document you may elect to print to keep track of the contributions and to make sure that they are properly remitted as part of your salary. The document is in this web address.
References:
https://www.sss.gov.ph/sss/DownloadContent%3FfileName%3DJoint-Memo-Circular-ECC-SSS_13Oct20.pdf
https://www.imoney.ph/articles/social-security-system-basics
https://moneygment.ph/2020/10/ec-program-for-sss-self-employed/
https://www.sss.gov.ph/sss/DownloadContent?fileName=CI2022-033.pdf
http://www.kuripotpinoy.com/blog/what-you-should-know-about-the-sss-wisp.
