SSS pension: who qualifies, how much it pays and how to claim

SSS pays a monthly pension for life from age 60, if you have stopped working, or from 65 whether you work or not, once you have 120 monthly contributions before the semester you retire. The amount is the highest of three figures worked out from your average salary credit and credited years, plus a PHP 1,000 additional benefit each month. Retirement pensioners on the rolls also get a 10% increase in each of 2025, 2026 and 2027 (SSS Circular 2026-002).

Who qualifies

RA 11199 Sec. 12-B gives two routes, both needing at least 120 monthly contributions before the semester of retirement:

• Optional retirement at 60. You are 60 or older and have left your job, stopped being self-employed, or ended your work as an OFW.
• Technical retirement at 65. You are 65 or older, working or not.

If you have fewer than 120 contributions at 60, SSS pays a one-time lump sum instead: the total contributions paid, which SSS’s retirement page says includes interest earned. Or you can keep paying as a voluntary member until you reach 120 and then claim a monthly pension. More on this is in how many contributions you need.

For the ages, see retirement age in the Philippines. If you go back to work before 65, SSS suspends the pension until you stop again.

How the amount is worked out

The monthly pension is the highest of three amounts (RA 11199 Sec. 12):

1. PHP 300, plus 20% of your AMSC, plus 2% of your AMSC for each credited year over 10
2. 40% of your AMSC
3. PHP 1,000

It can’t be below PHP 1,200 if you have at least 10 credited years, or PHP 2,400 with at least 20. On top comes the PHP 1,000 additional benefit allowance, paid to every retirement pensioner since January 2017.

Two terms do the work:

• AMSC, your average monthly salary credit: your last 60 salary credits before the semester of retirement divided by 60, or all your salary credits divided by the number of contributions, whichever is higher.
• Credited years of service: for contributions from 2002, your total monthly contributions divided by 12; from 1985 to 2001, each calendar year with at least 6 contributions (implementing rules, Rule 12 Sec. 19).

The formula only counts salary credit up to PHP 20,000 (RA 11199 Sec. 8(g); SSS Circular 2024-010).

Worked example. AMSC PHP 20,000 and 20 credited years:

PHP 300 + 20% of 20,000 + 2% of 20,000 x 10

PHP 8,300

40% of 20,000

PHP 8,000

Basic monthly pension (the higher one)

PHP 8,300

Plus additional benefit

PHP 1,000

Monthly pension before increases

PHP 9,300

Work out your own with the SSS pension calculator. It shows each step.

What is added after you retire

• The 2025 to 2027 increases. SSS raises retirement pensions by 10% a year in 2025, 2026 and 2027, on the pension plus the PHP 1,000, for pensioners on the rolls by each cut-off date. The 2026 increase came early, from 1 June 2026 (SSS Circular 2026-002). SSS estimated in July 2025 that retirement pensions would be about 33% higher after the three years. Dates and cut-offs are on the SSS pension increase page.
• The 13th month pension. Every December, equal to your monthly pension plus the PHP 1,000 (implementing rules, Rule 21 Sec. 4). See the 13th month pension guide.
• Dependants’ pension. For each dependent child, up to five starting with the youngest: 10% of your monthly pension or PHP 250, whichever is higher (RA 11199 Sec. 12-A). A child counts while unmarried, not working and under 21, or older if disabled since childhood.

Lump sum or monthly

When you first file, you can choose to take your first 18 monthly pensions as one lump sum, discounted at a rate SSS sets. SSS does not publish the rate. The 13th month pension and dependants’ pension are not part of the advance, and the monthly pension starts again from the 19th month. Weigh it up in lump sum or monthly pension.

Claiming and keeping your pension

• Filing. Retirement claims are filed online through My.SSS, after you enrol a bank or e-wallet account for the pension. See SSS retirement requirements and filing.
• Confirming each year. Pensioners living abroad, and those in the Philippines aged 80 and over, confirm they are alive each year through the Annual Confirmation of Pensioners (ACOP). Missing it suspends the pension.
• Borrowing against it. SSS runs a pension loan for retirement pensioners.

Raising your future pension

Two things move the number before you retire:

• More credited years. Each year over 10 adds 2% of your AMSC to amount 1.
• A higher salary credit, up to PHP 20,000. Paying on a higher monthly salary credit raises your AMSC over time.

Pay on salary credit above PHP 20,000 goes to your MPF account, not to this pension. The voluntary Pension Booster is a separate savings account too. If you are between jobs or back home, voluntary contributions keep your years counting. To see how SSS fits with your other savings, try the OFW retirement calculator.

If a pensioner dies or becomes disabled

When a retirement pensioner dies, the spouse and dependent children receive the pension. Survivor pensions rise 5% a year from 2025 to 2027 (SSS Circular 2026-002). See the SSS death benefit. Members who become permanently disabled before retiring may get a disability pension instead. See the SSS disability benefit. Back to the SSS guide for OFWs.