The Social Security System (SSS) is reminding its members that the prescriptive period for the readjudication or reevaluation of retirement, death or disability benefits that have already been settled by the SSS is only 10 years.
The 10-year prescriptive period is reckoned from March 1, 2006 for claims settled before that date—or from the initial settlement date of the retirement, death or disability claim—if such settlement was made on or after March 1, 2006.
The SSS issued the new SSS Office Order 2015-005, which sets the 10-year prescriptive period on the application for readjudication or reevaluation of retirement, death or disability benefits that have already been settled.
The new order was issued to “eliminate problems in the validation of submitted documents.” The SSS said since the prescription period for actions arising from an obligation created by law is only 10 years, the SSS’s retention period of claim records is limited also to 10 years only.
The new order outlined the exceptions to the 10-year prescriptive period for applying for readjudication or reevaluation of retirement, death or disability benefits.
These exceptions include cases, wherein the reason for the application for benefit adjustment is not due to the fault of the member or claimant, such as cases of unposted contributions and additional credited years of service, payment for additional dependents (if the SSS failed to include the dependents in the initial payment of benefits), change in the date of the contingency and other cases not attributable to the member.
The prescriptive period will also not apply for claims needing readjudication due to a change of guardian of the member or dependent, emancipation or death of dependents, remarriage of spouse but with dependents under his custody, resumption of monthly pension that was suspended due to noncompliance with the Annual Confirmation of Pensioners and payment of withheld shares for coclaimants in the death benefit.