One of the often asked questions by the public about the Social Security System (SSS) pertains to who are the rightful beneficiaries of a member. Republic Act 8282, the law that governs the SSS, has very specific provisions on who the beneficiaries of a member should be.
Section 8 (k) of the law defines beneficiaries as follows: a) primary beneficiaries who shall be entitled to benefits. They include 1) the dependent spouse until he or she remarries; 2) the dependent legitimate, legitimated or legally adopted and illegitimate children subject to the following conditions: that the share of the dependent illegitimate children shall be 50 percent of the share of the legitimate, legitimated or legally adopted children in the basic pension; and in the absence of the dependent legitimate, legitimated or legally adopted children of the member, his or her dependent illegitimate children shall be entitled to 100 percent of the benefits.
In the absence of primary beneficiaries, the secondary beneficiaries shall be entitled to benefits. They include the member’s dependent parents, and in the absence of dependent parents, any other person designated by the member.
In the event of a member’s death, the death benefit is paid in accordance to the following order of preference: primary beneficiaries; secondary beneficiaries; any other person designated by the member as his or her beneficiary in member’s records (E-1/E4); and legal heirs of the deceased member.
Section 8 (e) of the SSS law defines dependents as a) the legal spouse who is entitled by law to receive support from the member; b) the legitimate, legitimated or legally adopted and illegitimate child who is unmarried, not
gainfully employed and has not reached 21 years of age, or if over 21 years of age, he or she is congenitally or while still a minor has been permanently incapacitated and incapable of self-support, physically or mentally; and c) the parent who is receiving regular support from the member. It must be stressed that the law specifically provides that the legal spouse is the one who is entitled to the benefit in case of the member’s demise and not the common-law spouse. Hence, the presentation of the marriage contract as a supporting document when filing a claim is very important.
In the case of dependent children, the law provides that five minor children, starting from the youngest, are entitled to dependents’ pension equivalent to P250 per child, or 10 percent of the basic pension, whichever is higher. The supporting documents that should be presented are the birth certificates of the children. For children with congenital or permanent incapacity acquired while still a minor, the presentation of the appropriate medical records are needed, aside from the birth certificate.
What if the member has no primary beneficiaries and the secondary beneficiaries (i.e., parents) are no longer around, who will be entitled to the benefits in the event of the member’s death? If the member was a pensioner prior to his or her demise, his or her legal heirs (children above 21, brothers or sisters, etc.) shall be entitled only to the remaining pension within the five-year guaranteed period. If the member died while still actively contributing, and he or she has contributed at least 36 monthly contributions but has no primary beneficiaries, his or her secondary beneficiaries or his or her legal heirs will be entitled to a lump-sum benefit equivalent to 36 times the monthly pension. If the member has not paid the required 36 monthly contributions, his or her legal heirs shall be entitled to a lump-sum benefit equivalent to the monthly pension times the number of contributions paid to the SSS, or 12 times the monthly pension, whichever is higher.
It might be a bit complicated, but it is important to understand ones rights under the law in order not to miss out on any benefits.
For more details on SSS programs, members can drop by the nearest SSS branch, visit the SSS web site (www.sss.gov.ph), or contact the SSS call center at 920-6446 to 55, which accepts calls from 7 a.m. on Monday all the way to 7 a.m. on Saturday.
Susie G. Bugante is the vice president for public affairs and special events of the SSS. Send comments about this column to susiebugante.bmirror@gmail.com.
2 comments
what if the primary beneficiary is the second legal wife?it is capable to get the pension of the death pensioner?
why sometimes the process is to hard eventhough some documents was provided then they want more evidences to provide after all the documents can they didnt need .