A Philippine legal article on what employers must pay, when “advancing” happens, and the consequences of getting it wrong.

1) The Philippine legal framework

In the Philippines, Social Security System (SSS) coverage for private-sector employment is generally compulsory. The governing statute is the Social Security Act of 2018 (Republic Act No. 11199), together with its implementing rules and SSS issuances (circulars, contribution schedules, and administrative policies).

The law is built around a simple compliance architecture:

The employee is the covered “member.”
The employer is made the statutory collector/remitter for employed members.
Contributions are shared between employer and employee (with special rules for certain categories, like kasambahays).
The employer must remit both shares within prescribed deadlines.

This structure is the reason “advance” issues arise: even when an employer fails to deduct or cannot deduct the employee share on payroll, the employer typically remains responsible to SSS for the full remittance.

2) What “advance SSS contributions” really means (and what it does not mean)

In everyday HR/payroll talk, “advance” can mean different things. Legally, in the context of employed members’ contributions, it usually refers to one of these situations:

A. Employer remits contributions even though the employee share was not (or could not be) deducted

This is the most common “advance” scenario in practice. The employer ends up “fronting” the employee share to comply on time, then later seeks reimbursement or adjusts payroll deductions (subject to wage-deduction rules and fairness constraints).

B. Employer shoulders contributions because the law requires it for certain workers (e.g., some kasambahays)

For certain household employment arrangements, the law can require the employer to pay a larger share, and in some cases shoulder the entire contribution.

C. Not the same as “advancing SSS benefits”

People often confuse contributions with benefits. Employers have separate, well-known obligations in some benefits (e.g., in certain benefit claims workflows, employers may pay first then get reimbursed, depending on the benefit type and SSS rules). That is benefit administration, not “advancing contributions.” This article focuses on contributions—but it will briefly flag benefit-related “advance” duties at the end to avoid confusion.

3) The employer’s core legal duties for SSS contributions

For employees under compulsory coverage, the employer’s baseline obligations include:

Register the employer with SSS and secure an employer number.
Report employees for SSS coverage and maintain accurate employee data.
Deduct the employee share from compensation when payroll is processed, as allowed by law.
Add the employer share (employer counterpart).
Remit the total contribution (employee + employer shares) on time and in the prescribed manner.
Keep records and make them available for inspection/audit when required.

The obligation that matters most for “advance” issues is #5: SSS looks to the employer for correct and timely remittance.

4) When the employer becomes liable to pay “both shares” (the heart of the “advance” issue)

A recurring compliance principle in Philippine social security administration is:

The employer’s duty to remit does not disappear just because the employee share wasn’t deducted.

Common situations where the employer effectively “advances”:

Payroll error: employee share was not deducted due to system mistake.
Late/retro registration: employee was hired earlier but reported late; contributions for prior months may need correction/settlement.
Disputed payroll: deductions were not implemented pending an internal dispute.
Timing gaps: wages processed late, but remittance deadline arrives.

In these circumstances, the employer may still be treated as responsible for the full amount due to SSS, with the employer later attempting to recover the employee share through lawful means.

Can the employer later recover the employee share?

Generally, employers attempt recovery through:

Subsequent payroll deductions, spread out and properly documented, or
Direct reimbursement by the employee, or
Civil collection in rare cases (often impractical and employee-relations sensitive).

Important caution: even if recovery is theoretically possible, employers must observe rules on lawful wage deductions and avoid creating illegal withholding or underpayment issues. Practically, employers should treat recovery as a controlled payroll adjustment, with transparency and written computation.

5) When contributions are due (and when they are not)

A. Contributions are generally based on compensation actually paid/earned

For employed members, contribution obligation is tied to the employee’s compensation within the applicable contribution schedule.

B. Leave without pay / no-pay situations

If an employee receives no compensation for a period (e.g., extended unpaid leave), there may be no contribution base for that month under the employed-member mechanism, depending on how compensation is defined and whether any pay/allowances were still granted.

But be careful:

If the employee receives taxable compensation or qualifying allowances treated as part of compensation, contributions may still be due.
If the employee is reclassified or continues coverage through another status, different rules may apply.

Practical takeaway: “No salary, so no contribution” is not a safe one-liner. What matters is whether there was compensation that triggers contributions under SSS rules.

6) Special attention: Kasambahay (domestic workers) and who shoulders the contribution

Household employment is governed by special labor and social protection rules. In many household employment cases, the employer shoulders a larger portion of SSS (and other statutory) contributions, especially for lower-paid kasambahays, with cost-sharing kicking in only beyond certain pay thresholds under applicable rules.

This is a legally recognized “advance/shouldering” setup: the employer may be obligated to pay amounts that would otherwise be split in ordinary private employment.

7) Payment deadlines and the cost of late remittance

SSS sets remittance schedules (commonly organized by employer number/coverage date rules and updated policies). Missing deadlines triggers:

Penalties (e.g., monthly penalty rates under the SSS law and issuances)
Potential assessment actions (SSS demand letters, billing, enforcement)

Even if the employee share was not deducted, late remittance can still produce penalties assessed against the employer because SSS treats remittance timeliness as an employer-controlled duty.

8) Consequences of failure to remit: administrative, civil, and criminal exposure

Under Philippine SSS enforcement, a delinquent employer can face multiple layers of risk:

A. Administrative assessment and collection

SSS can assess:

Unpaid contributions
Employer counterpart
Employee share (if not remitted)
Penalties and charges

SSS may pursue collection through lawful enforcement mechanisms.

B. Employee benefit prejudice and employer liability

A major risk is when non-remittance causes:

Denial/delay/reduction of an employee’s SSS benefits, loans, or claims
Coverage gaps affecting eligibility or computations

When employee benefits are prejudiced because the employer failed to comply, the employer may face direct liability exposure under SSS rules and related legal principles.

C. Criminal liability

Non-remittance can have criminal consequences under the SSS law, typically framed around failure/refusal to remit contributions and related violations. Criminal exposure is often associated with patterns of delinquency, willful failure, or non-compliance despite demand—though exact prosecutorial thresholds depend on facts and SSS enforcement posture.

Practical point: The existence of a payroll deduction does not protect an employer if remittance was not made; in fact, deducting and not remitting can aggravate the matter.

9) Is an employer ever required to pay contributions “in advance” for future months?

As a rule, employed-member contributions are not meant to be voluntarily pre-paid months ahead by the employer in the way voluntary members might pay ahead (depending on the program). Employer remittance is typically a periodic payroll-based obligation for covered months.

However, the word “advance” comes up because employers may:

Pay immediately to cover a prior period once discovered (catch-up), or
Pay the total due even without having collected/deducted the employee share yet (fronting).

Those are “advance” in cash-flow terms, not “advance payment for future periods” as a standard compliance model.

10) Practical compliance guidance for employers (to avoid “advance” headaches)

A. Make SSS remittance non-negotiable in payroll operations

Lock contribution computation to the current SSS schedule used by your payroll system.
Reconcile headcount changes (new hires, resignations, transfers) every payroll cut-off.

B. Build a controlled correction workflow

For missed deductions/remittances:

Document the period affected, the corrected computation, and how/when it will be remitted.
Treat employee-share recovery as a transparent adjustment (preferably spread out if large).

C. Keep audit-ready records

Maintain:

Payroll registers
Contribution reports
Proofs of remittance
Employee reporting/coverage documents

D. Watch for “compensation” edge cases

Allowances, bonuses, and special pay can change the base depending on classification rules. Misclassification is a frequent cause of assessments.

11) Frequently asked questions

“If we forgot to deduct the employee share, can we just pay the employer share and let the employee handle theirs?”

For employed members, the employer is generally expected to remit the total required contribution for the payroll period following the prescribed scheme. Letting employees “pay their own share separately” is not how employed-member remittance normally works.

“If the employee refuses deductions, are we off the hook?”

No. Employer statutory duty to remit remains. Handle the refusal as an HR/disciplinary/compliance issue, but do not treat it as permission to skip remittance.

“Can we deduct the missed employee shares in one big lump sum next payroll?”

Be careful. Large retro deductions can create wage issues and employee-relations problems. A structured, documented repayment approach is safer, consistent with lawful deduction principles and fairness.

“If an employee is on unpaid leave, do we still have to pay?”

It depends on whether compensation was paid/earned that triggers contributions. “Unpaid” needs verification against actual payroll and what the company provided during the period.

12) Avoiding a common confusion: employer “advances” in SSS benefits (brief note)

Separate from contributions, some SSS-related workflows historically required employers to play a role in facilitating benefit claims and, in certain benefit types and circumstances, pay first then get reimbursed (subject to current rules and SSS processing requirements). That is not an obligation to “advance contributions,” but it’s often why HR teams use the same word “advance” for different SSS transactions.

13) Bottom line

In the Philippine setting, the employer’s obligation to “advance” SSS contributions most often means this:

SSS holds the employer responsible for timely remittance of contributions for employed members.
When the employee share was not deducted or cannot be deducted on time, the employer may still need to remit the full amount to comply—effectively “fronting” the employee share and dealing with recovery later.
Non-remittance exposes the employer to penalties, assessments, benefit prejudice liability, and potential criminal risk depending on the facts.

If you want, I can also add (1) a sample internal payroll policy clause on missed SSS deductions/remittances, and (2) a step-by-step correction template your HR/payroll team can use.