The surviving spouse of a pensioner is now a primary beneficiary of social security benefits, like a monthly survivorship pension, even if their marriage was solemnized after the date of the retirement of the pensioner due to permanent total disability.
This was declared by the Supreme Court (SC) as it voided, as violative of due process and equal protection, Section 13-A(c) of the Social Security Law (Republic Act No. 8282) which provides that “upon the death of the permanent total disability pensioner, his primary beneficiaries as of the date of disability shall be entitled to receive the monthly pension.”
Section 13-A(c) means that the surviving spouse, to be considered as a primary beneficiary who is entitled to receive survivorship pension, must be the legitimate spouse of the pensioner as of the date of the latter’s disability.
In a full court decision written by Associate Justice Henri Jean Paul B. Inting, the SC said “the proviso ‘as of the date of disability’ under Section 13-A(c) is unfounded and inharmonious with the spirit behind the enactment of the Social Security Law.”
The SC pointed out that “the unqualified denial of claims for benefits filed by surviving legitimate spouses who contracted their marriages to the pensioner-spouses after the latter's disability evidently discriminates against common-law relationships which are common and even recognized by the Family Code as family units and unions.”
“Evidently, the classification espoused by Section 13-A(c) does not rest on real and substantial distinctions and is not germane to the purpose of the Social Security Law. It is arbitrary and too sweeping as it considers all marriages contracted after the date of the pensioners' disability as a sham, regardless of the circumstances of the case,” it said.
The SC ruling was issued as it granted the petition filed by Belinda D.R. Dolera who challenged the decision of the Court of Appeals (CA) whch upheld the order of the Social Security Commission (SSC) denying her application for survivorship pension following the death of her husband, Leonardo L. Dolera.
In 1980, Leonardo retired on permanent disability and started receiving his permanent total disability pension from the Social Security System (SSS).
In 1981, Leonardo married Belinda, then his common-law spouse, with whom he shared a child. Leonardo and Belinda lived together as husband and wife for 28 years before his death on Nov. 14, 2009.
Belinda then filed a claim for survivorship pension before the SSS but her claim was denied pursuant to Section 13-A(c) of RA 8282.
The SSS ruled that Belinda did not qualify as a primary beneficiary under the law as she only became Leonardo’s legitimate spouse after the date of his permanent disability. Belinda elevated her petition to the SSC, but was likewise denied. She elevated her case before the CA which upheld the ruling of the SSC. She then challenged the CA’s ruling before the SC.
The SC ruled:
“All told, the Court strikes down the proviso ‘as of the date of disability’ in Section 13-A(c) of the Social Security Law for being an infringement of the 'due process and equal protection clauses of the Constitution.
“It is incumbent upon the SSS to grant petitioner's (Belinda) claim for survivorship pension, which accrued from the death of her husband Leonardo.
“Wherefore, the petition is granted. The Decision dated May 18, 2020, and the Resolution dated Sept. 28, 2020, of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. SP No. 159511 are reversed and set aside.
“The proviso ‘as of the date of disability’ in Section 13-A(c) of Republic Act No. 8282 is declared void for being contrary to the due process and equal protection clauses of the Constitution. The Social Security System is ordered to process the claim of petitioner Belinda D.R. Dolera for survivorship pension in accordance with this Decision. So ordered.”