Maternity benefits
Use Maternity Benefits to pay an employee's SSS maternity benefit in the Philippines: KAMI works out the benefit from her monthly salary credits, works out the salary differential the employer owes on top, puts both on her payslip, and tracks the claim until SSS reimburses you. Each maternity leave gets one benefit case. This article shows how to create a case, what every figure means, and how to track it to reimbursement.
Where: Payroll › Settings › Statutory & Tax › Maternity Benefits
You need:
- The Payroll Processor right to open cases and act on them
- Batch Creator with write access to see New Benefit Case and the case buttons
Which one, when
| You want to | Use |
|---|---|
| Record that she is on maternity leave | Her leave, filed and approved in Attendance. A case never changes the leave |
| Pay the SSS benefit and salary differential through payroll | A benefit case, paid on a payroll run |
| Record a benefit your treasury paid directly | A benefit case, Paid outside KAMI |
Before you start
- Her maternity leave must be in KAMI. The case picks it up from leaves whose leave type name contains "Maternity" and that ended in the last 180 days. A leave can have only one active case.
- To pay on a payroll run, she must already have a payslip on an open batch. Create or recalculate the batch first.
- Have her salary to hand. The salary differential needs her monthly salary basis, which you type in.
How to create a benefit case
- Open Payroll › Settings › Maternity Benefits.
- Click New Benefit Case, or Create case on the banner that lists maternity leaves without a case.
- Case Details: choose the leave in Employee (approved maternity leave), the Contingency type, and the Expected delivery date. Tick Solo parent (RA 8972) if it applies. Click Next.
- SSS Maternity Benefit: check the monthly salary credits for the 12 lookback months. Change any month that doesn't match her SSS record. Click Next.
- Salary differential: type the Monthly salary basis, or tick Employer exempt from salary differential if your company qualifies. Click Next.
- Payout Plan: choose how the SSS benefit is paid. For Pay on a payroll run (lump sum), pick the Payroll run. Click Next.
- Review & Confirm: check the amounts and the payout, then click Confirm & Create Case.
The case is created and confirmed in one go, so it opens as Approved. If it can't be confirmed, for example because she has no payslip on the chosen batch, it stays as Draft and you can confirm it from the case page once the payslip exists.
The fields in the wizard
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Employee (approved maternity leave) | The leave this case is for. Her leave dates come from it |
| Contingency type | Live childbirth — 105 days, or Miscarriage / emergency termination — 60 days. Sets the number of benefit days |
| Expected delivery date | Decides the lookback months. Filled in as three days after the leave starts; change it to the real date |
| Solo parent (RA 8972) | Adds 15 paid days, so 120 instead of 105. Live childbirth only |
| Benefit computation window | Shows the 12 lookback months that count, and the excluded semester of contingency |
| Monthly salary credit grid | One box per lookback month, filled from her SSS contributions in KAMI. Type over a month to match SSS. Changed months are marked as manual. Each month is capped at ₱20,000 |
| Monthly salary basis | Her monthly salary, used to work out full pay over the leave |
| Employer exempt from salary differential | For distressed employers, retail businesses with 10 or fewer workers, and BMBEs. Sets the differential to nil |
| Pay on a payroll run (lump sum) | Adds the benefit to her payslip on the chosen open batch, as a non-taxable line included in the bank file |
| Paid outside KAMI (record only) | Nothing goes on a payslip. KAMI only tracks the case to reimbursement |
| Pay with the benefit (lump sum) | Pays the whole differential with the benefit, on the same payslip |
| Stagger across the leave cutoffs | Shown but not available yet |
How the amounts are worked out
Benefit days: 105 for live childbirth, 120 for a solo parent, 60 for miscarriage or emergency termination.
Lookback: the semester of contingency is the quarter containing the delivery date plus the quarter before it. The 12 months before that semester are the lookback. Example: a delivery on 10 August 2026 falls in July–September, so the semester is April–September 2026 and the lookback is April 2025 to March 2026.
Eligibility: she needs at least 3 monthly contributions in the lookback. With fewer, the wizard shows Not eligible for the SSS benefit. You can still continue if you type in contributions posted with SSS outside KAMI, for example from a previous employer.
SSS benefit:
- Sum of 6 highest MSCs: the six highest months in the grid.
- Average Daily Salary Credit (ADSC): that sum ÷ 180.
- SSS Maternity Benefit: ADSC × benefit days.
At the ₱20,000 cap, six months give ₱120,000 ÷ 180 × 105 days = ₱70,000.
Salary differential: what the employer adds so she gets full pay.
- Full pay: monthly salary basis × benefit days ÷ 30.
- EE contribution shares: an estimate of her SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG employee shares over the leave.
- Salary differential: full pay − EE contribution shares − SSS benefit. If that is zero or less, the wizard shows No differential due.
How to track a case to reimbursement
Click a case on the list to open it. The timeline across the top shows where it stands, and the SSS Reimbursement card has the next button.
- Mark advanced, with the date you paid her the benefit.
- Record birth, with the Birth Date.
- Mark MBRA filed, with the date you filed the Maternity Benefit Reimbursement Application with SSS. The card shows the amount as receivable.
- Record reimbursement, with the date and the Amount SSS paid you.
Cancel case is available until reimbursement. It removes the case's lines from her payslip while that batch is still Open or Pending. Once the batch is processed, the case can't be cancelled.
The list and case pages
| On the list | Shows |
|---|---|
| Banner | Maternity leaves with no case yet. The SSS advance is due within 30 days of the leave application |
| Active Cases | Cases that are Approved, Advanced or MBRA Filed |
| Awaiting Reimbursement | Cases with MBRA filed, and the total receivable from SSS |
| Reimbursed | Cases reimbursed or closed |
| Cases table | Employee, Leave Period, SSS Benefit, Salary differential, Status and Next Action |
| Status | Next action |
|---|---|
| Draft | Confirm case |
| Approved | Advance pending |
| Advanced | Record birth, then File MBRA |
| MBRA Filed | Awaiting SSS reimbursement |
| Reimbursed | Complete |
| Cancelled | None |
What Happens Next
- Paid on a payroll run: confirming adds SSS Maternity Benefit and, if any is due, Maternity Salary Differential to her payslip on the chosen batch, as non-taxable other payments. Approve and pay the batch as usual.
- Nothing else in payroll changes. Her wages, contributions and tax during the leave follow her leave and payroll settings as usual. Check her payslips for the leave periods.
- Figures are fixed once the case is created. There is no edit button. To redo a case whose batch is still Open or Pending, cancel it and create a new one for the same leave.
Tips
- Create the case as soon as the leave is approved. The SSS advance is due within 30 days of the leave application.
- Check the grid against her SSS record. KAMI only knows contributions it ran. Months with another employer show as empty.
- Change the expected delivery date to the real one before confirming. It decides which months count.
- Record each step as it happens, so Awaiting Reimbursement shows what SSS owes you.
Troubleshooting / FAQ
Her leave isn't in the list. The leave type name must contain "Maternity", the leave must not be cancelled, it must have ended within the last 180 days, and it must not already have an active case.
"The employee has no payslip on the selected payroll." Add her to the batch, or calculate it, then open the case and click Confirm case.
The wizard says she isn't eligible. She has fewer than 3 contributions in KAMI in the lookback. Type in contributions posted with SSS elsewhere, or close the wizard.
"The linked payslip lines can no longer be removed because the payroll is already processed." The batch carrying the benefit has been processed, so the case can't be cancelled.