BERLIN – The final round of negotiations on a Philippine-German bilateral agreement on social security took place at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) in Berlin from 24 to 28 March 2013.
Philippine Ambassador to Germany Maria Cleofe R. Natividad signs copies of the Minutes of the final round of the Philippine-German Negotiations on Social Security along with Ms. Judy Frances See, the Vice President of the Philippine Social Security System (SSS), Mr. Helmut Weber at the German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs
Ambassador Maria Cleofe Natividad opened the negotiations and expressed optimism that the second round would succeed. She cited ‘positive signs’ for a prompt conclusion of the negotiations, such as the recent signing of a labor agreement facilitating the deployment of Filipino nurses to Germany as well as the ‘perfect timing’, as the Philippines and Germany are celebrating the 60th year of diplomatic relations in 2014. The factors considered by the Philippine government to pursue the establishment of a social security agreement would be the number of Filipino migrant/contract workers in a particular country who would benefit from the agreement and the compatibility of social security schemes.
Vice President Judy Frances Seee of the Philippine Social Security System (SSS) and German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs’ Mr. Helmut Weber exchange signed copies of the minutes of the Philippine-German Expert Talks on Social Security in Berlin
The main elements of the social security agreement include equality of treatment, export of benefits, determination of applicable legislation, maintenance of rights, and administrative assistance. For equality of treatment, this means that a Filipino who is a resident and employed in Germany shall be entitled to the same benefits granted to a German national under its social security law. For export of benefits, this means that if a Filipino migrant in Germany who is receiving a German pension decides to return permanently to the Philippines, the concerned German social security institution shall send his pension to him.
Further, a Filipino employed in Germany shall be covered by its social security law. He cannot at the same time be compulsorily covered under Philippine and German social security laws. In terms of administrative assistance, a Filipino who has reached retirement age need not return to the Philippines to file his claim under PH SSS law. He can proceed to the nearest office of the designated German liaison agency to fill up the form, and the said agency shall transmit the claim to its counterpart Philippine liaison agency.
The Philippine and German delegations at the commencement of the social security negotiations at the German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs
In terms of legislative scope, the social security agreement shall apply to retirement, disability and death benefits in accordance with the Social Security Act. It will also apply to retirement, disability, death and survivorship benefits in accordance with the Government Service Insurance Act. Further, it shall also impact on the totalization of periods of contributions under both laws, in accordance with the Portability Law.
The Philippine delegation from Manila was headed by Ms. Judy Frances See, Senior Vice President, International Operations Division, of the Social Security System (SSS). Joining her from SSS was Atty. Voltaire Agas, Chief Legal Counsel. Officials from the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (Philhealth) also joined the delegation, with Atty. Alfredo Pineda II, Senior Manager of the Internal Legal Department and Atty. Ma. Emily Roque, the Senior Manager for Prosecution. From the Philippine Embassy, Minister Mardomel Melicor, Third Secretary Azela Arumpac, and Ms. Isabelle Kuklinksi joined the negotiations.
