If your employer deducted SSS contributions from your pay but did not remit them, you can report this directly to the SSS branch that has jurisdiction over your employer, or through official SSS channels; the SSS can then pursue civil collection with a 2 percent monthly penalty plus possible criminal prosecution of the employer under the Social Security Act of 2018 (Republic Act No. 11199) — and your right to SSS benefits is protected even if your employer never remits.
Every month, a covered employer is supposed to deduct the employee’s share of the SSS contribution from payroll, add the employer’s own share, and remit the combined amount to the SSS. When an employer deducts the contribution but keeps it, or simply never registers or remits at all, the law gives the affected employee more than one way to respond — starting with a direct report to the SSS itself.
When Your Employer Is Required to Remit
Under the Social Security Act of 2018 (Republic Act No. 11199), contributions must be remitted to the SSS within the first ten days of the calendar month following the month they cover, or within whatever other period the Social Security Commission may prescribe. An employer that fails to remit on time does not simply owe the unpaid contribution — the law adds a penalty of two percent per month, computed from the date the contribution first fell due until it is actually paid. This penalty applies regardless of any private excuse the employer may offer, such as cash flow problems or an informal payment plan with the employee.
How to Check If Your Contributions Are Actually Being Remitted
Payroll deductions on a payslip are not proof that money reached the SSS. Employees can and should periodically verify their actual contribution records through the SSS’s online member portal, or by requesting a printout of their contribution history at an SSS branch. A gap between what was deducted from your pay and what shows up on your official SSS record is the clearest sign that something is wrong.
Step-by-Step: Filing a Complaint With the SSS
- Step 1 — Gather your proof. Collect payslips showing the SSS deductions, your SSS number, a certificate of employment or contract, and any other document establishing the employment relationship and the period involved.
- Step 2 — Confirm the gap. Check your contribution record online or request one at a branch, and compare it against what was actually deducted from your pay for the same period.
- Step 3 — Report to the SSS. Bring your documents to the SSS branch that has jurisdiction over your employer’s place of business, or raise the matter through the SSS’s official hotline and member-service channels, describing the discrepancy and identifying the employer.
- Step 4 — SSS investigates. The SSS can inspect the employer’s payroll and contribution records to determine whether contributions were in fact deducted and not remitted, and to compute the exact amount owed.
- Step 5 — Collection against the employer. Once a delinquency is confirmed, the SSS can collect the unpaid contributions and penalty either through a court action, which the law directs be heard ahead of most other civil cases, or by having a warrant issued directing a sheriff to levy on and sell the employer’s property, following the same procedure used to enforce ordinary court judgments.
- Step 6 — Criminal referral, where warranted. Where the facts support it, non-remittance can also be pursued as a criminal matter against the employer, separately from the civil collection of the unpaid amount.
Criminal Liability of a Non-Remitting Employer
The law treats deducting a contribution from an employee’s pay and then failing to turn it over as more serious than ordinary non-payment. An employer who deducts SSS contributions or loan amortizations from an employee’s compensation and fails to remit them within thirty days from the date they became due is presumed by law to have misappropriated the funds, exposing the employer to liability under the Revised Penal Code’s provision on estafa. Separately, the law’s own penal clause punishes an employer’s failure or refusal to register employees, to deduct contributions, or to remit contributions to the SSS with a fine and imprisonment, with the fine and prison term both applying together rather than as alternatives. Where the employer is a corporation, partnership, or association, the managing head, directors, or partners are personally liable for the offense, not merely the corporate entity. Criminal action for these violations may be initiated either by the SSS itself or by the employee concerned.
Your Benefits Are Protected Even If Your Employer Never Remits
One of the more reassuring parts of the law is this: an employer’s failure or refusal to remit contributions does not prejudice the covered employee’s right to the benefits of SSS coverage. If the missing contributions end up reducing a benefit you are entitled to — for example, a lower pension because of gaps in your record — the employer, not you, is made liable to the SSS for damages equal to the difference between what you should have received and what the incomplete record actually supports, on top of the unremitted contributions and accumulated penalty.
How Long You Have to Act
The right to bring an action against a delinquent employer can be exercised within twenty years from the time the delinquency becomes known, or from the time the SSS makes its assessment, or from the time the related benefit accrues, whichever situation applies. This is a considerably longer window than most ordinary civil claims, reflecting how easily an employee can go years without realizing contributions were never remitted.
Where Disputes Are Resolved
Disputes over coverage, contributions, benefits, and related penalties are decided in the first instance by the Social Security Commission, which is required to decide a properly submitted case within a mandatory period after the evidence has been submitted. A Commission decision that is not appealed becomes final after a set period from notice, and any party who wishes to challenge an adverse decision may elevate it to the Court of Appeals within the period the law allows, without needing to post an appeal bond.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if my employer says they will remit later, is that legal? No; contributions must be remitted within the first ten days of the month following the month they cover, and any delay carries a 2 percent per month penalty against the employer regardless of any private arrangement with the employee.
Will I lose my SSS benefits if my employer never remitted my contributions? No; the law expressly provides that an employer’s failure or refusal to remit does not prejudice the covered employee’s right to SSS benefits, and the employer remains liable to the SSS for the unpaid amount and for any resulting reduction in the employee’s benefit.
Can my employer go to jail for not remitting my contributions? Yes; an employer who deducts SSS contributions from an employee’s pay and fails to remit them within thirty days of the due date is presumed to have misappropriated the funds, which can lead to criminal liability, and if the employer is a company, its managing head, directors, or partners can be held personally liable.
Do I need a lawyer to report non-remittance? Not necessarily for the initial report; you can bring your payslips and employment records directly to the SSS branch with jurisdiction over your employer, though a lawyer can help if the matter proceeds to a formal case before the Social Security Commission or a criminal complaint.
This commentary is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For guidance specific to your situation, please consult a licensed attorney.
Because non-remittance is both a collection problem and, in the right circumstances, a crime, an employee reporting it to the SSS is not choosing one track over the other — the civil and criminal consequences can run side by side.