Search for SSS beneficiaries

The Social Security System (SSS) has been placing advertisements in broadsheets showing the names of some of its deceased members and their beneficiaries who have not claimed the death benefit they’re entitled to.

The notices ask the beneficiaries to get in touch with the SSS main office in Quezon City or any SSS office nearest their place of residence to file a claim for death benefit within 90 days from the date of the publication of the advertisement.

Some of the beneficiaries’ last known address is described as “unknown” or “not indicated.” The members may have inadvertently failed to fill up that item when they accomplished the SSS membership form.

The known addresses cover the entire length of the Philippines, from urban areas to municipalities in far-flung provinces.

Under the law, the primary beneficiaries of a deceased SSS member, i.e., the dependent spouse until he or she remarries, and dependent legitimate, legitimated, legally adopted and illegitimate children who are less than 21 years old and are not gainfully employed and unmarried, are entitled to a death benefit if the deceased member has paid at least 36 monthly contributions prior to his or her death.

If there are no primary beneficiaries, the member’s dependent parents shall be entitled to the benefit. In the absence of the parents, the benefit will go to the member’s designated beneficiary and his or her legal heirs.

Considering the number of advertisements that the SSS has placed (for the past few months up until now), there must be thousands of beneficiaries out there who have yet to receive the death benefit they are entitled to.

They’re probably unaware of their entitlement to that benefit; or if they are, they do not know how to go about claiming it; or if they have been named as beneficiary under the last category, they were not informed by the member of that designation.

Note that death is generally not a welcome subject for discussion in the family circle, so any mention of it and who gets what in case a family member kicks the bucket is frowned upon.

Regardless of its amount, the death benefit would no doubt be helpful to its beneficiaries, especially if the deceased member was the breadwinner of his or her family. It’s a small payback for the member’s SSS contributions.

The publication of those advertisements is commendable, but if the SSS wants its message to reach a wider audience, it should consider placing similar notices, too, in local newspapers where many of the beneficiaries reside.

It is common knowledge that the reach of the broadsheets is quite limited as they primarily circulate or are distributed in urban areas and economically developed municipalities.

Bear in mind that people who live outside highly urbanized areas or in the municipalities that are served by local newspapers, by and large, know or are acquainted with many of their fellow residents.

When readers of these newspapers see familiar names in the advertisement, there is a strong possibility that, out of a sense of pakikisama (fellowship), they will seek them out or ask whoever may know them to inform them of the death benefit.

Considering the ease by which text messages can be sent and exchanged at present, passing on information will not be difficult, much less entail a lot of expense.

And if the local radio station announcers see the advertisement, chances are, as part of their public service, they would broadcast it and request their listeners to convey the information to the named beneficiaries.

While it is true that English is generally understood in most parts of the country, it would be helpful if the advertisement is written in the dialect that is widely used in the area where the local newspaper is distributed.

The SSS would accomplish two things through this scheme, namely, its advertisement would reach its target audience and it would add to the revenue stream of local newspapers.