Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) have it rough, having to survive and earn a living in a foreign land in a bid to make a better life for themselves and their families.
With everything that they have to go through with work hours, homesickness, and so on, they still have to send money to their loved ones.
Money can get really tight and it may be difficult to save up for the future, which is why OFWs need some extra help with their financial situation.
What is SSS Flexi Fund?
The SSS Flexi Fund is an investment fund for OFWs that earns through fixed-income government securities, which can help them save up for the future.
It is open to OFWs below 60 years old who were recruited in the Philippines by a foreign employer, earning income in a foreign country, and/or permanently residing in a foreign country, then you can set up an SSS Flexi Fund account to help you save money back in the Philippines.
How to Apply for SSS Flexi Fund?
Opening one is easy enough as long as you meet the simple requirement of being an OFW working and/or residing in a foreign country.
Fill out the SSS Flexi Fund Enrollment Form and submit it to a nearby SSS Foreign Representative Office along with whatever documents may help with the application.
If you happen to be in the Philippines, then you can submit it in any SSS branch along with your Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) or POEA-issued E-receipt as proof of your pending deployment as an OFW.
How to pay SSS Flexi Fund Contributions?
As for remitting your Flexi Fund contributions, it is similar to remitting your regular SSS contributions as an OFW.
Fill out an SSS Form RS-5 (Contributions Payment Return Form) and make sure to tick the box beside “OFW” under payor type.
Any amount over P200 paid in excess of your SSS contribution can go into your Flexi Fund, thus putting it aside and having it earn interest income.
Whether you deposit monthly, quarterly, or however you wish, you can put money into your SSS Flexi Fund account anytime you want, thus the word “Flexi” in the name.
This flexibility makes the SSS Flexi Fund program a boon for OFWs who are thinking about the long term and looking towards the future.
Why should you invest in SSS Flexi Fund?
There are a fair number of reasons why you should consider an SSS Flexi Fund account over other methods of saving up money for the future as an OFW.
First off, it is tax-exempt and guaranteed by SSS, so you can be secure in knowing that your savings will surely add up. The interest earnings you can get are computed based on average rates of SSS’
The interest earnings you can get are computed based on average rates of SSS’ short-term placements or 91-day Treasury Bills (TB), whichever is higher.
It is credited every month-end with compounded interest, meaning that you are sure to earn as much as possible from it just by continuing to contribute to the fund.
It is also subject to quarterly repricing according to the current market conditions in the Philippines, so you earn more as the Filipino economy gets better.
Finally, it is enhanced by Annual Incentive Benefits (AIB) if you happen to be qualified, so you get more AIB the higher your equity is.
How to withdraw your investment
Once you do need some funds, you can take money out in 3 ways.
You can do an early withdrawal whenever you wish for your urgent needs, although it does entail a pre-termination fee if your contributions had been there for only less than a year.
There is the aforementioned AIB, which may be declared based on the year-end net income and is distributed based on shares to total equity of all qualified members.
Finally, there are retirement, disability, and death benefits, which work similarly to SSS pension, distributed through monthly pension, lump sum amount, or a combination of both.
Click here to read more about SSS Flexi Fund Investment.
Click here to read: How to Invest in SSS PESO Fund
[…] What is SSS Flexi Fund and Why You Should Invest […]