A few Social Security System (SSS) members have written to ask for some clarifications and I would like to share the questions and answers with you.
1) Mr. Cruz (not his real name) filed his retirement-benefit claim in June 2015 when he was 62 years old. He is now asking why the computation of his pension started only from April 2015 instead of October 2013, when he turned 60.
To qualify for the SSS retirement- pension benefit, the member should be at least 60 years old, separated from employment or ceased to be self-employed, or is 65 years old, whether employed or not, and has paid at least 120 monthly contributions prior to the semester of retirement. Per SSS guidelines, the latest or most recent among the following situations shall be used in determining a covered employee’s date of retirement: date of 60th birthday; month after semester of 120th contribution; date of separation from employment. In the case of Mr. Cruz, records show that his last posted contribution was in April 2015, which was also his separation date from his last employer. Hence, his date of retirement was made effective in April 2015.
2) Another pensioner who is living abroad requested SSS to send his pension to a new bank account that he opened, located in the country of his residence. SSS denied his request and he is asking why.
The main reason for the denial of this request is that a pensioner’s single savings account should be opened only in an SSS-accredited bank in the Philippines. Pension remittance to foreign banks is currently not in place yet.
Second, any request by a pensioner to change his depository bank for his pension must be supported by a Pensioner’s Data Change Request Form that may be downloaded from the SSS web site to be submitted along with the old and new passbooks.
3) Ms. Reyes (not her real name) is a retirement pensioner for 15 years already. Since she is single and her parents are long gone, she wants to know if she can name her caregiver as her beneficiary when she passes away.
Based on existing policies, upon the death of a retiree-pensioner, the monthly pension can be transferred to his or her primary beneficiaries only. Primary beneficiaries are the legal dependent spouse and minor dependent children. If there are no primary beneficiaries and the five-year guaranteed period has already lapsed, no more survivorship or death benefit is due to any other beneficiaries even if their names are listed in the member’s list of beneficiaries.
In Ms. Reyes’s case, she has been receiving her pension way beyond the five-year guaranteed period. As such, her caregiver will not receive any benefit even if the caregiver’s name is listed as one of the beneficiaries because there are no more benefits forthcoming except for the funeral benefit, which will be paid to whoever shoulders the burial of the member.
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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 Mondays all the way to 7 a.m. on Saturdays.
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.