DO you know that Social Security System (SSS) retirement, total disability and death pensions have a five-year guarantee, that is, if the pensioner has no primary beneficiaries and dies within 60 months from the start of the monthly pension, the secondary beneficiaries shall be entitled to a lump-sum benefit equivalent to the total monthly pensions corresponding to the balance of the five-year guaranteed period excluding the dependent’s pension (and carer’s allowance in the case of disability pensioners)?
For instance, if a pensioner who has been receiving pensions for one year suddenly dies, normally the primary beneficiaries—consisting of the legal spouse and dependent children, maximum of five starting from the youngest—will receive 100 percent of the pension, including the dependent’s allowance equivalent to 10 percent of the basic pension, or P250, per child, whichever is higher. However, if there are no primary beneficiaries, the secondary beneficiaries, consisting of the deceased member’s parents, will receive the balance of the five-year guarantee period. If there are no secondary beneficiaries, then the designated or the legal heirs of the member will receive the lump-sum benefit.
Only those members entitled to lifetime pensions can enjoy the five-year guarantee period. For retirement pensioners, the minimum number of contributions required to qualify to a lifetime-retirement pension is 120 months; for both total disability and death benefits, 36 months.
In the case of the death benefit, the primary beneficiary (widowed spouse) is considered the pensioner. If the pensioner dies and is survived by dependent children, the children will continue to receive 100 percent of the pension through a court-appointed guardian until they reach the age of majority, marry or get employed. If there are no other primary beneficiaries, then the balance of the five-year guarantee period will go to the secondary beneficiaries.
The five-year guarantee period is a form of protection of pensions and a way of ensuring that a member gets more than what he pays for.
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For more information about the Social Security System (SSS) and its programs, call our 24-hour call center at (632) 920-6446 to 55, Monday to Friday, or send an e-mail to member_relations@sss.gov.ph.
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.