How to Apply SSS Funeral Benefit

The SSS offers a number of benefits to its member, which they may or may not directly benefit from. But the important thing about this is that members can avail for at least seven (7) benefits offered by the fund, throughout their lifetime. In this article we discuss how dependents and representatives can file and claim monetary assistance in case a loved one who is also an SSS member passes away.

Also Read: Updated SSS Contribution Table 

It’s also important to talk about death, to which the SSS offers assistance for their members. This is one of the indirect benefits which the family or representative can avail at the time of the member’s death. At times if we suffer a tragic loss, it can be difficult to search for funds in order to cover the costs of the funeral of the deceased and any help is definitely welcome. So for those of you who are SSS members, your membership will also help your loved ones financially in during these difficult times.

What You Need to Know About Filing for the SSS Funeral Benefit

And because death can pose various challenges to family members, the SSS offers assistance to family members of the deceased in the form of an SSS Funeral Grant.

Firstly, the SSS Funeral Grant can be availed to the family or representative who shouldered the burial expenses of the deceased member or pensioner. As of 2015, the amount of the funeral grant has been increased from PHP 20,000 to PHP 40,000, based on the member’s total number of paid contributions and credited years of service (CYS).

Requirements

In order to file and claim this benefit from the SSS, the applicant should provide the following requirements:

1. A duly filled-out SSS Funeral Claim Form (which can be downloaded from the SSS website).
2. The SSS card or two (2) valid IDs or documents of the claimant, both with signature and at least one (1) photo.
3. Certified true copy of the member’s death certificate or in the case where a member died overseas, a certificate issued by the Vital Statistics Office/County of host country or the equivalent.
4. The original copy of the official receipt /contract from the funeral parlour for the funeral costing.
5. New residence certificate of the claimant.

How to Apply for SSS Burial Benefit for Members

Step 1: Gather all the necessary document requirements

Step 2: Once the claimant or representative has gathered all the above documents, they may visit the local SSS branch and provide the above requirements.

Step 3: After reviewing the documents, the SSS agent will provide a claim stub which the representative or the claimant will use later to collect the cheque from the SSS.

Note: Most of the time, a representative from the SSS will notify the claimant via text message once the cheque is already available.

Important Reminders

Here are a few reminders for those who are applying for the bereaved family or relative of the SSS member who passed away:

• To make things simpler, it would be better if the person whose name is specified on the official receipt of the funeral expenses would be the claimant so that only the documents that apply to them would be required.
• Furthermore, it would be a good idea to ask a representative from the funeral parlour if they also file the Funeral Claim for their clients as part of their services, as some of them do. This would give you more time to deal with other things, such as organizing the funeral, or preparing for the burial, and attending to family members, among others.

Summary

Young and healthy as you may think you are, it’s important to look ahead into the future and prepare for things such as death, sickness, and retirement among others. A good way to do so is by getting insurance and consistently settling your contributions with the SSS. This is for our future so please always keep this in mind to avoid challenging times ahead.

We hope this guide to claiming funeral benefits can help guide your regarding the process.

ALSO READ: How to View SSS Contributions Online