Proof of life requirement for SSS pension set aside during COVID-19 onslaught

Social Security System (SSS) pensioners need not present themselves anymore in SSS offices to prove they’re alive to receive pension.

The so-called proof of life requirement has been set aside in the meantime as COVID-19 quarantine measures are preventing people from going outside.

This would go on until end of April, according to an SSS statement on Friday (March 27).

The SSS said it would release monthly pensions without pensioners presenting themselves “for humanitarian consideration.”

“In this time of crisis, the importance of providing our pensioners with the SSS pension they can rely on and ensuring their health and safety overshadows the need for their timely compliance” with the proof of life requirement, said SSS president and chief Aurora C. Ignacio.

The SSS is requiring survivors, retirees and total disability pensioners to report once a year to an SSS office during their birth months.

The SSS suspends the benefits of pensioners who fail to comply with that requirement.

The requirement was put in place as the SSS had been releasing pension though intended beneficiaries had already died.

The SSS visits pensioners aged 85 years or older and those suffering from amputations or blindness.

The SSS also suspended processing of applications for unified multipurpose identification cards because it required physical contact in branches and offices.

The SSS also extended the filing deadlines for sickness notifications and sickness benefit claims for March 1 to April 30, by 60 calendar days or until June 30, without penalties.

“Employers are also encouraged to pay in advance the sickness benefits of their respective employees,” the SSS said.

Edited by TSB