SSS Contribution Guide
8 min readThis guide covers the Social Security System (SSS) contribution table, computation logic, and how TalinoHR handles SSS deductions in payroll.
Overview
The Social Security System is the Philippines' state-run social insurance program providing retirement, disability, sickness, maternity, and death benefits. Both employers and employees contribute monthly, with the employer paying the larger share.
TalinoHR automatically computes SSS contributions during payroll using the 2025 contribution table stored in the database.
2025 SSS Contribution Table
The 2025 SSS table (effective January 2025) has 61 brackets with Monthly Salary Credits (MSC) ranging from P5,000 to P35,000. Contributions are determined by matching the employee's monthly salary to the correct bracket.
How Bracket Matching Works
The system looks up the bracket where:
rangeFrom <= monthlySalary <= rangeTo
If the salary falls below the lowest bracket, the minimum bracket is used. If the salary exceeds the maximum bracket range (P34,750+), the maximum bracket (MSC P35,000) applies.
Key Brackets
Minimum Bracket (MSC P5,000)
| Component | Amount |
|---|---|
| Salary Range | P0 - P5,249.99 |
| Monthly Salary Credit | P5,000 |
| Employee Share (SS) | P250.00 |
| Employer Share (SS) | P500.00 |
| EC Contribution | P10.00 |
| MPF Employee | P0.00 |
| MPF Employer | P0.00 |
| Total Employee | P250.00 |
| Total Employer | P510.00 |
| Total Monthly | P760.00 |
Common Range: MSC P15,000
| Component | Amount |
|---|---|
| Salary Range | P14,750 - P15,249.99 |
| Monthly Salary Credit | P15,000 |
| Employee Share (SS) | P750.00 |
| Employer Share (SS) | P1,500.00 |
| EC Contribution | P30.00 |
| MPF Employee | P0.00 |
| MPF Employer | P0.00 |
| Total Employee | P750.00 |
| Total Employer | P1,530.00 |
| Total Monthly | P2,280.00 |
MSC P20,000 (Start of WISP/MPF)
| Component | Amount |
|---|---|
| Salary Range | P19,750 - P20,249.99 |
| Monthly Salary Credit | P20,000 |
| Employee Share (SS) | P1,000.00 |
| Employer Share (SS) | P2,000.00 |
| EC Contribution | P30.00 |
| MPF Employee | P0.00 |
| MPF Employer | P0.00 |
| Total Employee | P1,000.00 |
| Total Employer | P2,030.00 |
| Total Monthly | P3,030.00 |
Note: The SS employee share caps at P1,000 starting at MSC P20,000. Above this level, additional contributions go to the MPF (WISP).
MSC P25,000 (Mid-WISP Range)
| Component | Amount |
|---|---|
| Salary Range | P24,750 - P25,249.99 |
| Monthly Salary Credit | P25,000 |
| Employee Share (SS) | P1,000.00 |
| Employer Share (SS) | P2,000.00 |
| EC Contribution | P30.00 |
| MPF Employee | P250.00 |
| MPF Employer | P500.00 |
| Total Employee | P1,250.00 |
| Total Employer | P2,530.00 |
| Total Monthly | P3,780.00 |
Maximum Bracket (MSC P35,000)
| Component | Amount |
|---|---|
| Salary Range | P34,750 and above |
| Monthly Salary Credit | P35,000 |
| Employee Share (SS) | P1,000.00 |
| Employer Share (SS) | P2,000.00 |
| EC Contribution | P30.00 |
| MPF Employee | P750.00 |
| MPF Employer | P1,500.00 |
| Total Employee | P1,750.00 |
| Total Employer | P3,530.00 |
| Total Monthly | P5,280.00 |
Contribution Components Explained
Regular SS Contributions
The regular Social Security (SS) contribution is shared between employee and employer:
- Employee Share: 5% of MSC (caps at P1,000/month at MSC P20,000)
- Employer Share: 10% of MSC (caps at P2,000/month at MSC P20,000)
The combined SS rate is 15% of the Monthly Salary Credit.
Employees' Compensation (EC)
The EC contribution is paid entirely by the employer:
- P10.00/month for MSC below P15,000
- P30.00/month for MSC P15,000 and above
EC provides work-related injury, illness, and death benefits.
Workers' Investment and Savings Program (WISP/MPF)
The Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF), also known as WISP, kicks in for employees with MSC above P20,000:
- MPF Employee: Starts at P25/month at MSC P20,500, increases by P25 per P500 MSC increment, up to P750/month at MSC P35,000
- MPF Employer: Starts at P50/month at MSC P20,500, increases by P50 per P500 MSC increment, up to P1,500/month at MSC P35,000
WISP contributions are invested in approved funds and provide additional retirement benefits on top of regular SSS pension.
Total Contributions
- Total Employee Share = SS Employee + MPF Employee
- Total Employer Share = SS Employer + EC + MPF Employer
- Total Monthly = Total Employee + Total Employer
Pay Frequency Handling
Semi-Monthly Split
For companies paying semi-monthly (most common in the Philippines), the total monthly contribution is split evenly:
Per-cutoff Employee Deduction = Total Monthly Employee Share / 2
Per-cutoff Employer Share = Total Monthly Employer Share / 2
Both halves are rounded to 2 decimal places.
Monthly Payroll
For monthly payroll, the full contribution is deducted in a single pay period.
Monthly Salary Derivation
SSS contributions are always computed based on the monthly salary equivalent, regardless of the employee's pay basis:
| Pay Basis | Monthly Salary Calculation |
|---|---|
| MONTHLY | basicSalary (direct) |
| DAILY | dailyRate x workDaysPerMonth |
| HOURLY | hourlyRate x workHoursPerDay x workDaysPerMonth |
The workDaysPerMonth and workHoursPerDay are derived from the employee's assigned work schedule. If no schedule is assigned, company defaults are used.
Implementation in TalinoHR
Database Storage
The SSS contribution table is stored in the GovernmentContributionTable model with type: "SSS". Each row contains:
rangeFromandrangeTo- Salary bracket boundariesemployeeShareandemployerShare- Regular SS amountsecContribution- Employees' Compensation amountmpfEmployeeandmpfEmployer- WISP/MPF amounts
Computation Code
The primary computation function is in lib/compliance/sss.ts:
computeSSS(monthlySalary)- Looks up the bracket from the database and returns all contribution componentssplitSSSContribution(contribution, payFrequency)- Divides the contribution for semi-monthly payroll
Calculator Tool
The public SSS calculator at /tools/sss-contribution-calculator uses a hardcoded table (lib/tools/sss-table.ts) for client-side computation without database access. This table mirrors the database table and contains all 61 brackets.
Payroll Engine Integration
During payroll computation (Step 10 of the 17-step engine):
- The engine derives the employee's monthly salary equivalent
- Calls
computeSSS()to look up the contribution bracket - Calls
splitSSSContribution()if the pay frequency is semi-monthly - Records the employee share as a deduction and the employer share in computation details
Employer Obligations
Monthly Remittance
Employers must remit SSS contributions monthly. TalinoHR generates remittance summaries at Payroll → Government (/payroll/government):
- API:
/api/reports/government/remittance-summary?year=YYYY&month=MM - Shows total employee shares, employer shares, EC, and MPF broken out separately
SSS R-3 Report
The SSS R-3 (Monthly Collection List) lists all employee contributions. This report is planned for future government e-filing integration (Payroll Phase 7).
Common Questions
What happens if an employee's salary changes mid-month?
The payroll engine uses the salary at the time of computation. If a salary change is effective mid-period, the full-month equivalent salary is used for SSS bracket lookup. The contribution is based on the salary bracket, not a pro-rated amount.
Are contractual/project-based employees covered?
Yes. SSS coverage applies to all employees regardless of employment status. The contribution is computed the same way for PROBATIONARY, REGULAR, CONTRACTUAL, and PROJECT_BASED employees.
How do I update the SSS table when rates change?
Update the GovernmentContributionTable records in the database with type: "SSS". Mark old records as inactive (isActive: false) and create new records with updated rates. The payroll engine only looks up active records.
What about voluntary members?
TalinoHR handles employer-mandated contributions only. Voluntary additional contributions are not tracked in the system. Employees making voluntary contributions should coordinate directly with SSS.
Bracket Reference Table
Below is a summary of the 61 brackets showing the salary range boundaries and MSC progression:
- Brackets 1-20: MSC P5,000 to P14,500 (P500 increments, EC P10)
- Bracket 21: MSC P15,000 (EC increases to P30)
- Brackets 21-40: MSC P15,000 to P24,500 (P500 increments, EC P30)
- Bracket 31 (MSC P20,000): SS employee share caps at P1,000
- Bracket 32 (MSC P20,500): MPF/WISP begins (employee P25, employer P50)
- Brackets 32-61: MSC P20,500 to P35,000 (MPF increases by P25/P50 per bracket)
- Bracket 61: MSC P35,000 (maximum, catches all salaries P34,750+)
The total monthly contribution ranges from P760 (minimum bracket) to P5,280 (maximum bracket).