SSS won’t issue checks for funeral benefit claims; payouts through banks, other channels

The Social Security System (SSS) said Thursday it will no longer release checks for funeral benefit claims and will release payout through banks and other payment channels.

In a statement, SSS president and CEO Aurora Ignacio said the pension fund funeral benefit, a cash benefit granted to whoever paid for the funeral expenses of a deceased member, is now released either through Philippine Electronic Fund Transfer System and Operations Network (PESONet) participating banks or e-wallets such as PayMaya, or remittance transfer companies (RTCs)/cash payout outlets (CPOs).

This is on top of the earlier launched mode of payment via Unified Multi-Purpose Identification (UMID) cards enrolled as an ATM card.

"Upon the filing of funeral claim applications, claimants who are also SSS members are required to have an enrolled disbursement account in the SSS' Bank Enrollment Module (BEM), if they don't have a UMID-ATM," Ignacio said.

To access the BEM, members must log in to their My.SSS account at the SSS website and proceed to the E-services tab and click “Bank Enrollment.”

Members must select their preferred PESONet participating bank, e-wallet, or RTC/CPO.

“They must supply their bank account number to enroll their bank account or their mobile number for e-wallets or RTCs/CPOs,” Ignacio said.

The complete list of PESONet participating banks and electronic money issuers, including e-wallets, is available under the "ACH Participants" section of the Payments and Settlements tab of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas website.

Aside from banks and e-wallets, the DBP Cash Padala Thru M Lhuillier, an RTC/CPO, may also be selected in the BEM, according to the SSS.

Members must provide their bank account numbers as a continuous string of numbers without dashes between non-numeric characters.

Likewise, mobile numbers must also be in the same format.

"Claimants, who are non-SSS members, are required to present and submit a copy of their disbursement account together with their funeral claims application and other documentary requirements," Ignacio said.

To receive the benefit payment through PESONet participating banks, non-SSS member claimants must present the original copy and submit the photocopy of any of the following: passbook, ATM card with the name of the claimant and account number, validated initial deposit slip, or a bank certificate or statement issued within three months before the filing of the claim with the name of the claimant and account number.

If claimants opt to receive the benefit through e-wallets or RTCs/CPOs, they must provide their mobile numbers.

"The disbursement of funeral claims through banks and alternative payment channels allows SSS beneficiaries to conveniently receive their benefits without having to wait for their checks to arrive. They can pick it up at the SSS branch where they filed their claims, and got to the bank to encash it," Ignacio said.

The enhanced payment method for the funeral benefit took effect on June 22, 2020.

Funeral claims encoded in the SSS' funeral system as of the said date will still be paid through checks, the pension fund said.

However, if the application is not yet encoded in the system, the SSS branch will inform the claimant to enroll a disbursement account in the BEM or provide the corresponding documentary requirement for his/her disbursement account, according to the SSS.—AOL, GMA News