How SSS computes a retirement pension
Two numbers drive it: your credited years of service (CYS, roughly total monthly contributions divided by 12) and your average monthly salary credit (AMSC, based on your last 60 MSCs or your lifetime average, whichever is higher). SSS runs three formulas and pays the highest: ₱300 plus 20% of AMSC plus 2% of AMSC for every credited year beyond ten; 40% of AMSC; or a floor of ₱1,200 (10–19 years) or ₱2,400 (20 years or more). Add a 13th-month pension each December and, if you have children under 21, a dependent's pension for up to five of them.
Why the last five years matter most for OFWs
Because AMSC looks at your final 60 contributions, the MSC you pay while earning abroad sets your pension far more than what you paid as a young employee in Manila. An OFW who pays the ₱35,000 maximum for five years before coming home locks in an AMSC of ₱35,000 for life. That is the single highest-return decision most OFWs can make with SSS.
Qualifying at all
You need 120 monthly contributions to receive a pension; with fewer, SSS refunds your contributions with interest as a lump sum, which is almost always worth far less. Members who are short at 60 may keep paying until they reach 120, and OFWs can pay a year in advance to avoid gaps.