Pag-IBIG Membership for Kasambahay (Household Employers & Domestic Workers)

Mandatory, not optional — but with its own specific rules

Pag-IBIG membership for kasambahay (household helpers, whether live-in or live-out) is mandatory under Section 11 of RA 10361, the Domestic Workers Act. This isn’t a general extension of the standard employed-member framework — Pag-IBIG issued a dedicated circular (HDMF Circular No. 331) specifically governing how registration, contribution, and remittance work for this category, and the rules differ from both standard employed membership and voluntary membership in a few specific ways.

When registration eligibility starts

A kasambahay becomes eligible for Pag-IBIG membership registration after at least one month of service to their employer. This is worth noting specifically because it differs from SSS coverage under the same law, which RA 10361 states applies to kasambahay regardless of compensation or duration of employment — Pag-IBIG’s one-month threshold is a distinct, Pag-IBIG-specific rule, not a blanket “Day 1” coverage rule that applies identically across all three agencies (SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG).

How registration actually works

Registration goes through the Kasambahay Unified Registration System (KURS) — a unified, “one-stop-shop” system integrating SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG registration into a single process, rather than three separate ones. If the online system isn’t available, both the kasambahay and employer can complete the Unified Registration Form (and the employer additionally completes the Household Employment Unified Report Form) in hard copy, submitted to the nearest Pag-IBIG branch.

Registering through SSS or PhilHealth’s own KURS process also counts as Pag-IBIG registration — you don’t need to separately re-register with Pag-IBIG if you’ve already registered through one of the other two agencies via KURS. Remittance of the actual contribution amounts, however, still follows each agency’s own separate process.

Who pays: the contribution-sharing structure

This is where kasambahay membership differs most from standard employed membership:

Monthly compensation	Contribution structure
₱1,500 and below	3% of compensation, entirely employer-paid
Over ₱1,500 to ₱4,999	4% of compensation, entirely employer-paid
₱5,000 and above	2% employer + 2% kasambahay (computed on a maximum of ₱5,000, even if actual compensation is higher)

A specific note on this ₱5,000 figure: this is not the same as the general Maximum Fund Salary (MFS) used to compute standard employee contributions, which is currently ₱10000 per HDMF Circular No. 460 (2024). Circular 331’s kasambahay-specific ₱5,000 threshold is a separate, distinct figure under the Kasambahay Law framework, and multiple sources published after Circular 460 took effect confirm it remained unchanged — don’t assume it scaled up alongside the general MFS increase.

Below ₱5,000/month, the kasambahay pays nothing — the employer covers the full contribution as part of their legal obligation under the law. This is a meaningfully different structure from standard employed membership, where the employee’s share is deducted from their own pay regardless of salary level.

Remittance timing

The employer must remit the first Monthly Mandatory Savings immediately after registration, and then on or before the 10th day of every following month, starting from the registration date. This specific deadline is clearly documented in Circular 331 — unlike the general employer remittance deadline for standard employed members, which this site found genuinely inconsistent across secondary sources (see Employer Obligations & Deadlines), the Kasambahay-specific deadline has a clear, single, circular-cited answer.

What membership actually provides

Once registered, a kasambahay has access to the same core Pag-IBIG benefits any member does — Regular Savings, eligibility for MPL and Calamity Loan once contribution-history requirements are met, and eventual eligibility for a housing loan, on the standard framework covered in Pag-IBIG Housing Loan Requirements.

This guide is educational and does not constitute legal advice. Confirm current registration procedures and any updates to Circular 331’s contribution brackets directly with Pag-IBIG before registering a kasambahay.