What happens if a member passes away without claiming his or her retirement benefit, even though he or she was entitled to it?
This was the case of a member who I shall call Maria, who was born in September 1927 and turned 60 in September 1987. At that time, she was already separated from employment and had 153 monthly contributions posted in her records. For some reason, however, she did not file her retirement claim up to the time of her death in February 2014, at the age of 87. Maria was single and based on Social Security System (SSS) records, both her parents and her sister Glenda had predeceased her. She was survived by her other sister Anna and Glenda’s children Cathy and Dan. Will Maria’s surviving heirs be entitled to her accrued retirement benefit?
A legal opinion issued by the SSS on November 23, 2000, stipulates that the retirement benefit is payable to the member himself or herself and, therefore, any accrued retirement benefit will form part of the estate of the deceased member and should be settled in favor of his or her heirs.
In the case of Maria, her accrued retirement pension will be inherited by her surviving legal heirs, namely, Anna, a sister; and Cathy and Dan, a niece and a nephew, respectively. Since Maria had no direct ascendant and descendant, the rules on Intestate or Legal Succession, as provided under the New Civil Code of the Philippines, governed the disposal of her estate.
Following the provisions in the New Civil Code, the accrued retirement pension was divided in equal parts between Maria’s siblings, Glenda and Anna. Glenda’s share was divided equally between her two children Cathy and Dan.
In answer to the question above, any unclaimed retirement pension of a member who passes away, but is already qualified to receive such benefit, will accrue to the account of the member and, thus, become part of his or her estate. The appropriate provisions on the settlement of estate in the New Civil Code will apply in the payment of the benefits to the surviving heirs.
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