In another initiative to go digital, the Social Security System (SSS) announced that they will no longer be issuing physical checks to members with funeral benefit claims.
Serving as a cash reimbursement for the funeral expenses of a deceased SSS member, the funeral benefit used to be issued via check. However, SSS president and CEO Aurora C. Ignacio announced in an official statement that it will now be released via banks participating in Philippine Electronic Fund Transfer System and Operations Network (PESONet) and e-wallet systems like PayMaya. Remittance transfer companies and cash payout outlets are also included in places where funeral benefits may be received.
These are “in addition to the earlier launched mode of payment via Unified Multi-Purpose Identification (UMID) cards enrolled as an ATM card.”
According to the state-run insurance company, “funeral claims encoded in the SSS’ funeral system as of June 22, 2020, will still be paid through checks. However, if it is not yet encoded in the said system, the SSS branch will inform the claimant to enroll a disbursement account in the BEM or provide the corresponding documentary requirement for his/her disbursement account.”
“Upon the filing of their funeral claim applications, claimants who are also SSS members must enroll a disbursement account in the SSS’ Bank Enrollment Module (BEM), if they do not have a UMID-ATM,” said Ignacio.
To access the BEM, members must log in to their My.SSS account at the company’s website and click the bank enrollment option on the E-services tab.
“The disbursement of funeral claims through banks and alternative payment channels allows SSS beneficiaries to conveniently receive the benefit without having to wait for checks, picking them up at the SSS branch where they filed their claims, and going to the bank to encash them,” said Ignacio.
This new system will also help avoid crowding and limit walk-in transactions in the company’s branches for the safety of both its members and employees.
Header photo by rupixen.com on Unsplash
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