SSS: Funeral benefit disbursements down 27% to P3.07-B in 2020

The Social Security System (SSS) said Tuesday it disbursed P3.07 billion worth of funeral benefits to over 135,600 beneficiaries last year, 27% lower compared to the P4.23 billion released in 2019.

In a statement, SSS President and CEO Aurora Ignacio said that the 27% drop in funeral benefit disbursements was due to the nationwide implementation of community quarantines since March 2020, which limited the visits of transacting members to various government offices, including the SSS.

“The majority of our members have postponed their personal visits to our branches for fear of being exposed to COVID-19, while some still wait for the availability of their supporting documents too, hence the decline in disbursements,” Ignacio said.

The state-run pension fund has been recording a steady increase in funeral benefit disbursements. It recorded P3.58 billion to 163,589 members in 2016; P3.79 billion to 170,358 members in 2017; P3.91 billion to 175,024 members in 2018; and P4.23 billion in 2019 to 186,730 members.

SSS funeral benefit is a cash grant given to anyone who paid for the burial expenses of the deceased member, amounting to a minimum of P20,000 to a maximum of P40,000 depending on the contributions paid effective August 2015.

“We would like to remind our member-claimants that they may now submit their funeral benefit claim application online via My.SSS. It is also important that they have a Unified Multi-Purpose ID (UMID) or a SSS digitized ID and an enrolled disbursement account under the Disbursement Account Enrollment Module (DAEM) for checkless payment of cash benefits,” the SSS chief said.

With a UMID card enrolled as an ATM, the funeral benefit payment shall be credited to claimants by default.

If none, member-claimants may choose their preferred disbursement account from any of the following payment channels: bank account in any PESONet participating banks; or E-wallets such as PayMaya; Union Bank of the Philippines (UBP) Quick Card; Electronic wallet (E-Wallet) such as Paymaya; or pick-up arrangement with remittance transfer companies (RTCs) / cash payout outlets (CPOs) such as M Lhuillier. — DVM, GMA News