Section 8. Terms Defined.— For purposes of this Act, the following terms shall, unless the context indicates otherwise, have the following meanings:
SSS – The Social Security System created by this Act.
Commission – The Social Security Commission as herein created.
Employer – Any person, natural or juridical, domestic or foreign, who carries on in the Philippines any trade, business, industry, undertaking, or activity of any kind and uses the services of another person who is under his orders as regards the employment, except the government and any of its political subdivisions, branches or instrumentalities, including corporations owned or controlled by the Government: Provided, That a self-employed person shall be both employee and employer at the same time.
Employee – Any person who performs services for an employer in which either or both mental or physical efforts are used and who receives compensation for such services, where there is an employer-employee relationship: Provided, That a self-employed person shall be both employee and employer at the same time.
Dependents – The dependents shall be the following:
The legal spouse entitled by law to receive support from the member;
The legitimate, legitimated or legally adopted, and illegitimate child who is unmarried, not gainfully employed, and has not reached twenty-one (21) years of age, or if over twenty-one (21) years of age, he is congenitally or while still a minor has been permanently incapacitated and incapable of self-support, physically or mentally: and
The parent who is receiving regular support from the member.
Compensation – All actual remuneration for employment, including :he mandated cost-of-livmg allowance, as well as the cash value of any remuneration paid in any medium other than cash except that part of the remuneration received during the month in excess of the maximum salary credit as provided in this Act.
Monthly salary credit – The compensation base for contributions and benefits as indicated in this Act: Provided, That in the computation of benefits, the maximum monthly salary credit to be considered shall be Twenty thousand pesos (₱20,000.00), until adjusted as provided in Section 4(a)(9).
Monthly – The period from one end of the last payroll period of the preceding month to the end of the last payroll period of the current month if compensation is on hourly, daily or weekly basis; if on any other basis, ‘monthly’ shall mean a period of one (1) month.
Contribution – The amount paid to the SSS by and on behalf of the members in accordance with the schedule provided in this Act.
Employment – Any service performed by an employee for his employer except:
Services where there is no employer-employee relationship in accordance with existing labor laws, rules, regulations and jurisprudence;
Service performed in the employ of the Philippine Government or instrumentality or agency thereof;
Service performed in the employ of a foreign government or international organization, or their wholly-owned instrumentality: Provided, however, That this exemption notwithstanding, any foreign government, international organization or their wholly-owned instrumentality employing workers in the Philippines or employing Filipinos outside of the Philippines, may enter into an agreement with the Philippine Government for the inclusion of such employees in the SSS except those already covered by their respective civil service retirement systems: Provided, further, That the terms of such agreement shall conform with the provisions of this Act on coverage and amount of payment of contributions and benefits: Provided, finally, That the provisions of this Act shall be supplementary to any such agreement; and
Such other services performed by temporary and other employees which may be excluded by regulation of the Commission. Employees of bona fide independent contractors shall not be deemed employees of the employer engaging the service of said contractors.
Beneficiaries – The dependent spouse until he or she remarries, the dependent legitimate, legitimated or legally adopted, and illegitimate children, who shall be the primary beneficiaries of the member: Provided, That the dependent illegitimate children shall be entitled to fifty percent (50%) of the share of the legitimate, legitimated or legally adopted children: Provided, further, That in the absence of the dependent legitimate, legitimated or legally adopted children of the member, his/her dependent illegitimate children shall be entitled to one hundred percent (100%) of the benefits. In their absence, the dependent parents who shall be the secondary beneficiaries of the member. In the absence of all the foregoing, any other person designated by the member as his/her secondary beneficiary.
Contingency – The retirement, death, disability, injury or sickness and maternity of the member.
Average monthly salary credit – The result obtained by dividing the sum of the last sixty (60) monthly salary credits immediately preceding the semester of contingency by sixty (60), or the result obtained by dividing the sum of all the monthly salary credits paid prior to the semester of contingency by the number of mohthly contributions paid in the same period, whichever is greater: Provided, That the injury or sickness which caused the disability shall be deemed as the permanent disability for the purpose of computing the average monthly salary credit.
Average daily salary credit – The result obtained by dividing the sum of the six (6) highest monthly salary credits in the twelve-month period immediately preceding the semester of contingency by one hundred eighty (180).
Semester – A period of two (2) consecutive quarters ending in the quarter of contingency.
Quarter – A period of three (3) consecutive calendar months ending on the last day of March. June. September and December.
Credited years of service – For a member covered prior to January nineteen hundred and eighty-five (1985) minus the calendar year of coverage plus the number of calendar years in which six (6) or more contributions have been paid from January nineteen hundred and eighty-five (1985) up to the calendar year containing the semester prior to the contingency. For a member covered in or after January nineteen hundred and eighty-five (1985), the number of calendar years in which six (6) or more contributions have been paid from the year of coverage up to the calendar year containing the semester prior to the contingency: Provided, That the Commission may provide for a different number of contributions in a calendar year for it to be considered as a credited year of service.
Member – The worker who is covered under Section 9, Section 9-A and Section 9-B of this Act.
Self-employed – Any person whose income is not derived from employment, as defined under this Act, as well as those workers enumerated in Section 9-A hereof.
Net earnings – Net income before income taxes plus non-cash charges such as depreciation and depletion appearing in the regular financial statement of the issuing or assuming institution.
Fixed charges – Recurring expense such as amortization of debt discount and rentals for leased properties, including interest on funded and unfunded debt.