When you leave a job — whether you resigned, got laid off, or started freelancing — your PhilHealth coverage doesn't just continue automatically under the old employed category. If you don't formally switch to voluntary membership and keep paying contributions yourself, you risk gaps in your eligibility right when you might need it most. Here's how to make the switch properly.
This guide covers Step 1: Understand Why You Need to Convert at All and Step 2: Get the PhilHealth Member Registration Form (PMRF), with the full details below.
- You must update your PhilHealth category yourself — it does not automatically switch when you leave a job
- The form you need is the same PMRF used for registration, marked 'For Updating' with category changed to Voluntary
- Voluntary members pay the full contribution themselves (no employer share) based on declared monthly income
- You'll need proof of income (ITR, LGU income certificate, or a notarized affidavit of income) since there's no employer payslip anymore
- Keeping contributions active as a voluntary member preserves your eligibility for benefits without gaps
Step 1: Understand Why You Need to Convert at All
Under the Employed category, your monthly PhilHealth premium is split between you and your employer, and remitted automatically through payroll. Once your employment ends, there's no more employer to share or remit contributions — if you don't switch your registration to Voluntary (or Self-Employed, if applicable) and start paying on your own, your contribution record simply stops updating, which can affect the eligibility requirements for using benefits later (like the standard requirement of a certain number of paid months within a lookback period before a claim).
Step 2: Get the PhilHealth Member Registration Form (PMRF)
Download the PMRF from the official PhilHealth downloads page, or get one from any Local Health Insurance Office (LHIO). Since you're already a member with an existing PIN, tick the 'For Updating' box and indicate that you are changing your membership category from Employed to Voluntary.
Step 3: Prepare Proof of Identity
Bring two 1x1 ID photos and copies of at least two valid government-issued IDs (such as passport, driver's license, or UMID), or alternatively a PSA-authenticated Birth Certificate if you don't have two valid IDs readily available. This confirms your identity matches your existing PhilHealth record.
Step 4: Prepare Proof of Income for Your New Contribution Bracket
Since Voluntary members no longer have an employer-reported salary, PhilHealth needs a way to determine your contribution bracket. Acceptable proof of income includes your latest Income Tax Return (ITR) or financial statements, a Certificate of Income from your Local Government Unit (LGU) or a relevant professional association, or — for freelancers and those with informal or irregular earnings — a notarized Affidavit of Income declaring your estimated monthly earnings.
Step 5: Submit Your Updated PMRF and Documents
Submit your completed PMRF along with your ID and income documents at any PhilHealth Local Health Insurance Office nationwide, or through your regional office's accepted online/email channels if available. There is generally no fee just to update or convert your membership category — you'll only start paying once your first voluntary contribution is due.
Step 6: Understand How Your New Contribution Is Computed
As a Voluntary member, you shoulder the full premium yourself — there's no more employer share. Your monthly contribution is based on the current PhilHealth premium rate (a percentage of your declared monthly income, applied against set income floor and ceiling brackets), and you pay this directly rather than having it automatically deducted from a payslip.
Step 7: Choose How and When You'll Pay Contributions
Voluntary members can typically pay monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually, through accredited payment channels including PhilHealth's official online portal, over-the-counter bank payments, or partner payment centers and e-wallets. Since there's no more automatic payroll deduction reminding you, set your own reminder or opt for a longer payment cycle (like quarterly or annual) if you tend to forget monthly due dates, since missed periods can create gaps in your contribution record.
Step 8: Keep Your Payment Records and Updated Member Data Record
After your first voluntary payment, request or check your Member Data Record (MDR) to confirm your category has been properly updated to Voluntary and that your payment is reflected. Keep your official receipts for every contribution payment, since these serve as your proof of active, continuous coverage if there's ever a discrepancy when you try to use a benefit later.
Frequently Asked Questions
Your PhilHealth record simply becomes inactive with no further contributions posted. This can create a gap that affects your eligibility for certain benefits, which typically require a minimum number of paid contributions within a specific lookback period before the date of confinement or claim — an inactive, unconverted record won't automatically disqualify you forever, but it does mean you'd need to resume paying (as Voluntary or by returning to employed status) and rebuild sufficient contributions before some benefits become available again.
Yes. Once you're hired again, your new employer typically handles updating your category back to Employed as part of your onboarding paperwork with PhilHealth, since they need to start remitting the shared employer-employee contribution on your behalf. This is especially relevant for Filipino readers, since local platforms, pricing, and consumer habits often differ from other markets.
PhilHealth applies an income floor for premium computation purposes — even if your actual declared income is very low or irregular, your contribution will generally be computed based on at least the minimum bracket set under current PhilHealth premium schedules, not simply reduced to zero.
Filipino senior citizens (60 and above) are generally covered under a separate, non-contributory category funded by the national government under the Expanded Senior Citizens Act, and typically do not need to pay Voluntary contributions once this coverage applies — check with PhilHealth or your LGU's senior citizen affairs office to confirm your specific registration status if you're approaching or already at senior citizen age.
Your registered dependents remain linked to your PhilHealth record through the conversion, as long as your membership stays active with contributions properly paid under your new Voluntary category — the conversion changes how you pay and how your premium is computed, not your existing dependent registrations.
It's best to convert as soon as possible after your last day of employment, ideally before your next planned contribution period, so there's minimal to no gap in your active contribution record — waiting too long increases the risk of an inactive record right when you might unexpectedly need to use a benefit.
Conclusion
Switching from Employed to Voluntary PhilHealth membership is a simple PMRF update, but it's easy to forget in the scramble of leaving a job — don't let that happen, since a lapsed record can bite you exactly when you need coverage most. Update your category, prepare your proof of income, and pick a payment schedule you'll actually stick to, so your PhilHealth protection never has a gap.
