An employer in the Philippines pays three mandatory contributions every month: Social Security System (SSS), PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG. In 2026, the employer side is 10% of the monthly salary credit for SSS, 2.5% of monthly basic salary for PhilHealth, and 2% of monthly compensation for Pag-IBIG, plus a PHP 10 or PHP 30 Employees' Compensation premium.
Every one of those percentages stops at a cap. That is the part payroll teams get wrong, and it is why a senior hire costs far less in contributions than the headline percentages suggest. On a monthly basic salary of PHP 100,000, the employer pays PHP 6,230 in total, which is 6.2% of pay rather than the 14.5% you get by adding the three rates together.
The rates below are the ones in force in 2026. We have linked the issuance or statute behind each one so you can check it yourself before you run payroll.
| Contribution | Employer pays | Employee pays | Salary base and cap | Most per month (employer / employee) |
| SSS, regular Social Security and Mandatory Provident Fund combined | 10% of MSC | 5% of MSC | Monthly salary credit, PHP 5,000 to PHP 35,000 | PHP 3,500 / PHP 1,750 |
| SSS Employees' Compensation (EC) | PHP 10, rising to PHP 30 where the MSC is PHP 15,000 or more | Nothing | Monthly salary credit | PHP 30 / nothing |
| PhilHealth (Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, PHIC) | 2.5% of monthly basic salary | 2.5% of monthly basic salary | Monthly basic salary, floor PHP 10,000, ceiling PHP 100,000 | PHP 2,500 / PHP 2,500 |
| Pag-IBIG (Home Development Mutual Fund, HDMF) | 2% of monthly compensation | 1% at PHP 1,500 or less, 2% above that | Monthly compensation, maximum fund salary PHP 10,000 | PHP 200 / PHP 200 |
Sources: SSS Circular No. 2024-006, Schedule of SSS Contributions effective January 2025, issued December 19, 2024. PhilHealth Circular No. 2020-0005 (Revision 1) and PhilHealth Advisory 2025-0002, which set the 5% rate, the PHP 10,000 floor, and the PHP 100,000 ceiling for 2024 and 2025. PhilHealth had issued no change for 2026 as of September 22, 2026. Pag-IBIG rates: Republic Act No. 9679, section 7. Maximum fund salary: Pag-IBIG Circular No. 460, effective February 2024, which we checked as quoted in Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Circular Letter No. 2024-2. Checked September 22, 2026.
These two rows are worked straight off the schedules above. They assume no allowances, so the compensation SSS and Pag-IBIG use equals the basic salary PhilHealth uses.
| Monthly basic salary | Employer pays | Employee pays | Employer cost as a share of pay |
| PHP 20,000 | PHP 2,730 (SSS 2,000, EC 30, PhilHealth 500, Pag-IBIG 200) |
PHP 1,700 (SSS 1,000, PhilHealth 500, Pag-IBIG 200) |
13.7% |
| PHP 100,000 | PHP 6,230 (SSS 3,500, EC 30, PhilHealth 2,500, Pag-IBIG 200) |
PHP 4,450 (SSS 1,750, PhilHealth 2,500, Pag-IBIG 200) |
6.2% |
The effective rate falls as pay rises because all three contributions are capped. Adding the three employer rates gives 14.5%, and applying that to a salary overstates your cost on anyone earning above the caps. It also goes wrong in the other direction at the bottom: PhilHealth is computed on a PHP 10,000 floor, so an employee paid below that still costs you PHP 250 in PhilHealth, and the Employees' Compensation premium sits outside the percentages entirely.
SSS contributions are not a flat percentage of gross pay. They are a percentage of the Monthly Salary Credit (MSC), which is the bracket your employee's compensation falls into on the published schedule.
In 2026, the MSC runs from PHP 5,000 to PHP 35,000, and the 15% rate splits 10% employer and 5% employee. Once compensation reaches PHP 34,750, the contribution stops growing, because the MSC has hit its ceiling.
The schedule splits that single contribution across two programs:
This matters because the provident fund is often read as a second 10%. It is not. An employer at the top of the scale pays PHP 2,000 into regular Social Security and PHP 1,500 into the provident fund, which is PHP 3,500 in total, or 10% of a PHP 35,000 MSC. There is no additional charge.
On top of that sits the Employees' Compensation premium, which the employer pays alone: PHP 10 a month, rising to PHP 30 once the MSC reaches PHP 15,000.
Employers are legally responsible for remitting accurate contributions on time. A common payroll error is summing the contribution percentages to estimate cost.
Using a flat percentage total leads to incorrect remittances. Late or inaccurate payments can trigger post-payment adjustments, reconciliation work, and penalties under Philippine law.
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Philippine payslips label these deductions with abbreviations. If you are reconciling a payroll register, or an employee has asked you what a line means, this is the translation.
| On the payslip | What it is | Who pays |
| EE NHIP | The employee share of the National Health Insurance Program (NHIP), which is the program PhilHealth administers. EE means employee and ER means employer. SSS uses EE and ER, and payroll systems apply the same labels to PhilHealth, so an EE line is the worker's half. | 2.5% employee, matched by 2.5% employer |
| ER NHIP | The employer half of that same premium. | Employer |
| PHIC | Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, the agency itself. PHIC, PhilHealth, and NHIP all describe the same deduction. | Shared equally |
| MPF (formerly WISP) | The SSS Mandatory Provident Fund, formerly the Workers' Investment and Savings Program. It is not an extra deduction. It is the portion of the same SSS contribution that falls on the monthly salary credit above PHP 20,000, credited to the employee's own account. | Same 10% employer and 5% employee split |
| MySSS Pension Booster | A name SSS uses for its provident fund. Its Pension Booster page uses it for the voluntary scheme, the rebranded WISP Plus, which is optional savings the member chooses, outside the statutory 10% and 5% split. Its primer and pay-contribution page also use it for the mandatory MPF above, so check which one the line is. | The member by choice for the voluntary scheme, or the SSS split if the line is the mandatory MPF |
| HDMF | Home Development Mutual Fund, the legal name for Pag-IBIG. | 2% employer, 1% or 2% employee |
| EC | Employees' Compensation, a work injury and illness premium. | Employer only |
| PF | A provident fund deduction: either the SSS mandatory provident fund or an employer's own provident fund plan. Check your payroll system's code list. | The SSS split for the mandatory fund, or the company plan's own terms |
The three agencies do not share a deadline, and two of them set yours by an identifier rather than a fixed date.
| Agency | When a regular employer remits |
| SSS (regular Social Security, EC, and provident fund together) |
The last day of the month following the applicable month. Where that falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, payment may be made on the next working day. Payment runs against a Payment Reference Number generated in My.SSS. |
| PhilHealth | Employers whose PhilHealth Employer Number ends in 0 to 4 remit on the 11th to the 15th day of the month following the applicable period. Those ending in 5 to 9 remit on the 16th to the 20th. |
| Pag-IBIG | Monthly, following the applicable month, on a staggered schedule Pag-IBIG assigns by the first letter of the employer's name. Confirm the window that applies to your company directly with Pag-IBIG. |
Sources: SSS, Pay Contributions. PhilHealth, Payment and Reporting Procedures for Employers. Checked September 22, 2026.
Miss an SSS deadline and the cost is fixed by statute. Under section 22(a) of the Social Security Act of 2018 (Republic Act No. 11199), a delinquent employer pays the contribution plus a penalty of 2% per month from the date it fell due until it is paid.
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The Philippines Social Security System (SSS) was created by Republic Act No. 1161, the Social Security Act of 1954, and was officially established on September 1, 1957. Coverage is compulsory on all employees not over 60 years of age and their employers under Republic Act No. 11199, and the contributions you remit fund this set of benefits.
|
Benefit Type |
Description |
|
Retirement |
Monthly pension from age 60 (if separated from employment) or 65, with at least 120 monthly contributions; a lump sum if fewer. |
|
Disability |
Monthly pension for members with at least 36 monthly contributions before the semester of disability. Otherwise, a lump-sum benefit. |
|
Sickness |
90% of the average daily salary credit, for a member confined at home or in the hospital for at least four days, with at least three months of contributions in the 12 months before the semester of sickness. |
|
Maternity |
105 days of paid leave for live childbirth under Republic Act No. 11210, with a further 15 days for a qualified solo parent. The SSS benefit is a daily allowance of 100% of the average daily salary credit. The employer advances it in full within 30 days of the leave application, and SSS reimburses 100% of the amount advanced. The employer also pays the salary differential, the gap between the SSS benefit and the employee's regular wage for the whole leave, unless it is exempt. Four kinds of employer are exempt: distressed establishments, retail or service establishments with no more than 10 workers, micro-business enterprises with total assets of no more than PHP 3 million, and employers already giving similar or better benefits. They apply for the exemption to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in the first quarter of each year. |
|
Death and Funeral |
A death benefit for the member's beneficiaries, paid as a monthly pension or a lump sum, and a funeral benefit for whoever paid the funeral expenses. |
|
Unemployment |
Cash assistance for involuntarily separated employees who meet the contribution requirements. |
SSS also runs the Employees' Compensation Program (ECP), which pays additional compensation to workers who suffer illness, accident, or death arising from work. This is the program your PHP 10 or PHP 30 EC premium funds, and it is the one contribution the employee never shares.
The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PHIC) manages the National Health Insurance Program (NHIP). PhilHealth Circular No. 2020-0005 (Revision 1) puts employees in formal employment in the direct contributor category, and says their premium is "equally shared by the employee and the employer." That split is why payroll records carry separate employee and employer lines, which payroll systems often label EE and ER. The benefits are:
|
In-patient Benefits |
Covers diagnostic or therapeutic procedures, and other hospital charges |
|
Out-patient Benefits |
Covers medical consultations, diagnostic tests, and preventive health services |
|
Z Benefits |
High-cost medical services not typically covered by regular health insurance plans, such as cancer treatment and bypass surgery |
|
SDG-related benefits |
Malaria, HIV and AIDS, animal bite, and other conditions tied to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals |
The Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG) gives employees a savings account they can borrow against, mainly for housing. Under the Pag-IBIG Fund Law (Republic Act No. 9679), membership is mandatory for all employees covered by SSS and for their employers.
Pag-IBIG is the smallest of the three contributions, and it caps at a maximum fund salary of PHP 10,000 a month, which Pag-IBIG raised from PHP 5,000 with effect from February 2024. The employee pays 1% where monthly compensation is PHP 1,500 or less and 2% above that. The employer always pays 2%. Both are figured on monthly compensation up to that PHP 10,000 maximum, so for an employee paid PHP 8,000 a month, each side pays PHP 160. The most either side pays is PHP 200 a month, and the most any single employee costs you in Pag-IBIG over a year is PHP 2,400.
Monthly contributions are not the whole employer cost. Presidential Decree No. 851 and its implementing rules require 13th-month pay for rank-and-file employees who have worked at least one month in the calendar year. Unlike a discretionary Christmas bonus, it is a statutory entitlement.
Sources: Presidential Decree No. 851, signed December 16, 1975, for the December 24 deadline; DOLE's release on Labor Advisory No. 25, Series of 2023, for coverage and the one-twelfth minimum; and DOLE's Bureau of Working Conditions FAQs on 13th-month pay for basic salary and pro-rating. Checked September 22, 2026.
Failing to pay 13th-month pay is a labor law violation and can lead to an administrative complaint with DOLE. If you are budgeting a Philippine headcount, accrue it through the year rather than meeting it in December.
Running three agencies, three caps, and three deadlines is the part of Philippine payroll that takes the time. We do it as an Employer of Record, which means we become the legal employer of your Philippine staff and carry the compliance obligation with it, so you do not need a local entity to hire.
Our Global Payroll service runs the same work where you already have an entity: computing each employee's monthly salary credit, splitting the employer and employee shares correctly, remitting to SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG on each agency's own deadline, and handling post-payment adjustments and reconciliation when a posting goes wrong.
We support 900+ companies across 150+ countries and pay in 130+ currencies, through our own entities in six markets and 600+ local partners and entities everywhere else.
SSS is 15% of the monthly salary credit, split 10% employer and 5% employee, on an MSC of PHP 5,000 to PHP 35,000, plus an employer-only Employees' Compensation premium of PHP 10 or PHP 30. PhilHealth is 5% of monthly basic salary shared equally, with a PHP 10,000 floor and a PHP 100,000 ceiling. Those are the 2025 terms, and PhilHealth had issued no change for 2026 as of September 22, 2026. Pag-IBIG is 2% from the employer and 1% or 2% from the employee, figured on monthly compensation up to a maximum fund salary of PHP 10,000. Each of the three caps at a different salary level, so the effective employer rate falls as pay rises.
EE NHIP is the employee share of the National Health Insurance Program, which is the program PhilHealth runs. EE means employee and ER means employer. SSS uses EE and ER, and payroll systems apply the same labels to PhilHealth. So an EE NHIP line is the worker's 2.5% of monthly basic salary, and the employer pays a matching 2.5% that does not appear as a deduction because it is never taken from pay.
Yes. PHIC stands for Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, the government agency that administers the National Health Insurance Program. PHIC, PhilHealth, and NHIP all describe the same monthly premium. Payroll systems pick different labels for it, which is why one payslip says PHIC and another says PhilHealth or EE NHIP.
It is not an extra deduction. The SSS Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF), formerly the Workers' Investment and Savings Program (WISP), takes the part of the same SSS contribution that falls on the monthly salary credit above PHP 20,000, up to the PHP 35,000 maximum. That portion is credited to the employee's individual account rather than the common fund. An employer at the top of the scale pays PHP 2,000 into regular Social Security and PHP 1,500 into the provident fund, which is PHP 3,500 in total, not a second 10% on top. Watch the name. SSS's 2024 Pension Booster primer calls the mandatory fund the Mandatory MySSS Pension Booster and the optional one the Voluntary MySSS Pension Booster (the rebranded WISP Plus). SSS's pay-contribution page calls the MPF simply "MySSS Pension Booster," so a Pension Booster line on a payslip can be either. Check whether it sits inside the 10% and 5% split.
For SSS, the split is fixed at 10% employer and 5% employee of the monthly salary credit, and the employer pays the Employees' Compensation premium alone. PhilHealth is split equally, 2.5% each. Pag-IBIG is 2% from the employer against 1% or 2% from the employee. On a PHP 100,000 basic salary, that comes to PHP 6,230 a month from the employer and PHP 4,450 from the employee.
SSS is due on the last day of the month following the applicable month, moving to the next working day where that falls on a weekend or holiday. PhilHealth depends on your PhilHealth Employer Number: those ending in 0 to 4 remit on the 11th to the 15th, and those ending in 5 to 9 on the 16th to the 20th. Pag-IBIG runs a staggered monthly schedule set by the first letter of the employer's name, so confirm your window with Pag-IBIG directly.
No. The SSS contribution is shared by law. The employer pays its 10% share and may only deduct the employee's 5% share from pay. Section 19(a) of Republic Act No. 11199 bars an employer from deducting its own share from an employee's compensation, directly or indirectly. The same principle applies to PhilHealth, where the premium is equally shared, and to Pag-IBIG.
Section 22(a) of Republic Act No. 11199 sets a penalty of 2% per month on the unpaid contribution, running from the date it fell due until it is paid. Section 28(e) goes further: where the violation is a failure to register employees, or to deduct contributions and remit them, the penalty is a fine of not less than PHP 5,000 and not more than PHP 20,000, together with imprisonment of not less than six years and one day and not more than twelve years. Where the employer is a company, its managing head, directors, or partners carry that liability.
We compute each employee's monthly salary credit, apply the correct employer and employee split for all three agencies, remit on each agency's own deadline, and handle post-payment adjustments and reconciliation when a posting needs correcting. Where you have no Philippine entity, we can act as your Employer of Record and become the legal employer, and where you do have one, our Global Payroll service runs alongside it.
If you are also planning the holiday calendar into your payroll year, our Philippines public holiday and pay guide covers the premium rates for regular and special days.
Every figure on this page comes from the agency that sets it, the law behind it, or a government document that quotes it. SSS rates, the MSC range, the regular Social Security and provident fund split, and the EC premium: SSS Circular No. 2024-006 (December 19, 2024), still the schedule in force per the SSS contribution table. MySSS Pension Booster and its mandatory and voluntary names: SSS's Pension Booster primer (2024), its Pension Booster page, and its Pay Contributions page. SSS benefits: SSS's retirement, disability, sickness, maternity, death, and funeral benefit pages. The 1957 start: SSS's 2025 audited financial statements and Republic Act No. 1161. PhilHealth rate, floor, ceiling, and the equal split: PhilHealth Circular No. 2020-0005 (Revision 1) and PhilHealth Advisory 2025-0002, which cover 2024 and 2025; PhilHealth had issued no change for 2026 as of September 22, 2026. Pag-IBIG rates and coverage: Republic Act No. 9679, sections 6 and 7, checked against the Senate's copy of the Act and the text published by the Lawphil Project (lawphil.net). Maximum fund salary of PHP 10,000: Pag-IBIG Circular No. 460, effective February 2024, as quoted in DBM Circular Letter No. 2024-2. Remittance deadlines: SSS and PhilHealth. SSS coverage, the bar on deducting the employer's share, and penalties: Republic Act No. 11199, sections 9, 19, 22, and 28. 13th-month pay: Presidential Decree No. 851 and DOLE's guidance. Checked September 22, 2026.
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