The Social Security System (SSS) announced on Monday, Aug. 8, that the dependent legal spouses who are also existing SSS members may now submit their Social Security (SS) and Employees’ Compensation (EC) death benefit claims via My.SSS Portal.
"The inclusion of death benefit application on our list of online services is part of the digital transformation efforts of SSS to ensure that our services are readily accessible 24/7," SSS President and CEO Michael G. Regino said.
"Applicants are required to enroll their disbursement accounts in the My.SSS Portal for the cashless release of benefits to the rightful recipients," Regino continued.
However, the state-run pension fund said that the only qualified legal spouses for this are those "who have not re-married, cohabited or entered in “live-in” relationships before or after the members’ death."
Regino also clarified that claimants who will fall under the following categories are required to file their claims over the counter:
Dependent who has dependent child/children
Dependent with in-process/settled death benefit claim
Dependent with invalid membership coverage of the deceased member
Deceased spouse' date of death does not match the contingency date of the settled funeral claim
Deceased spouse' death is caused by a work-related illness that requires further medical evaluation under the EC death benefit program
“In consideration of the nature of how we process death benefit claims especially in establishing the rightful beneficiaries and ensuring correct payment, there are cases of claim applications that still need to be filed over the counter for thorough screening and evaluation,” Regino concluded.
Further details on the online filing of SS and EC death benefit claims are posted on SSS' official Facebook and Youtube accounts.