Filipino workers in the Middle East who have lost their jobs involuntarily may still claim a cash benefit from the Social Security System, the state-run social insurer has confirmed, as it highlighted the role of digital platforms in keeping members connected to services during the ongoing regional conflict.
SSS president Robert Joseph de Claro made the assurance in a press release, emphasising that the agency’s online infrastructure remains fully operational for its membership base, which as of March 27 had surpassed 43 million worldwide. “Even in these challenging times, our digital infrastructure ensures seamless service delivery. Members in the Middle East need not worry; they can manage their accounts safely from anywhere with Internet access,” he said.
The SSS covers all private sector workers in the Philippines, including professionals, informal sector workers, household service workers, and overseas Filipino workers. According to Gulf Today, as of December 2025, the agency counted 1,476,645 OFW-members globally, of whom 540,018 were classified as active paying members.
Among the benefits available to qualifying OFWs is an unemployment cash benefit for members involuntarily separated from their employment. To be eligible, an OFW-member must be 60 years old or younger and must have paid at least 36 monthly contributions, with a minimum of 12 of those contributions made within the 18-month period immediately before the separation. The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, an attached agency of the Department of Migrant Workers, must certify the OFW’s unemployment status before a claim can proceed.
Applications for the benefit can be submitted through the My.SSS portal within one year from the date of involuntary separation. The privilege may be used once every three years from that same date.
De Claro also highlighted expanded digital tools for SSS pensioners in the region, particularly for compliance with the Annual Confirmation of Pensioners requirement. Pensioners can now use a Facial Authentication with Liveness Check feature on the SSS website to verify their identity remotely. “A standout innovation is the ACOP Facial Authentication with Liveness Check, enabling secure identity verification from smartphones anywhere. It reduces fraud risks and eliminates the need for travel amid the current security situation in the Middle East. These tools were purpose-built to empower OFWs, allowing transactions ‘whenever, wherever’ even in crisis zones,” de Claro said.
SSS pensioners are generally aged 60 and above for full pension, or 55 and above for a reduced pension, and must have completed at least 120 monthly contributions prior to the semester of retirement.
Separately, the DMW reported that as of April 6, a total of 4,315 Filipinos — comprising OFWs, tourists, and family members — had returned to the Philippines from the Middle East, with 4,281 of them repatriated via Philippine-chartered flights coordinated with embassies, consulates general, and host governments.
Speaking at a national reintegration fair in Quezon City, Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said that half of the returnees intend to resume working abroad. “Just about 50 per cent still plan to go back to work abroad because they have valid employment visas,” he said, adding that those returning to their employers had done so with proper permission. “There is no problem with that. It only means they were able to properly ask permission from their employers to go home,” Cacdac noted.
The DMW currently has 200,000 job orders available overseas. Cacdac said the remaining returnees are exploring entrepreneurship or local employment as alternatives to overseas work.
