SSS funeral benefit: who can claim and what you need

The SSS funeral benefit is a cash grant toward funeral costs when a member, a total disability pensioner or a retirement pensioner dies. It goes to whoever paid for the funeral: from PHP 20,000 to PHP 60,000 if the deceased paid at least 36 monthly contributions, or a fixed PHP 12,000 with 1 to 35 contributions (SSS funeral benefit page and SSS Circular 2023-009, in force since 20 October 2023).

Who can claim

The person who paid the funeral expenses. Circular 2023-009 sets the order:

1. The surviving legal spouse.
2. Children, parents or any other person who can show proof of payment, if the spouse did not pay for the funeral or cannot be found, the spouse has died, or the deceased was single.

If two or more people file at the same time, SSS splits the benefit between them. If money is left after paying the first claimant, a later claimant can be paid up to the balance. Anyone proven responsible for the death cannot claim (Circular 2023-009).

The funeral benefit is separate from the SSS death benefit, the pension or lump sum for the member’s spouse, children or other beneficiaries.

How much

With at least 36 contributions, Circular 2023-009 sets the amount as:

PHP 20,000 + (0.5% x number of contributions paid x AMSC), up to PHP 60,000

The AMSC is the member’s average monthly salary credit, the same figure used for the SSS pension. SSS works out benefits on salary credits up to PHP 20,000 (SSS Circular 2024-010).

With 1 to 35 contributions, it is a fixed PHP 12,000.

Worked examples from the circular’s formula:

120 contributions, AMSC PHP 10,000: 20,000 + 0.5% x 120 x 10,000

PHP 26,000

240 contributions, AMSC PHP 20,000: 20,000 + 0.5% x 240 x 20,000

PHP 44,000

500 contributions, AMSC PHP 20,000: formula gives 70,000

PHP 60,000 (the cap)

It reimburses what you paid. The benefit is “a reimbursement of the funeral expenses as indicated in the proof of payment, but not to exceed the computed funeral benefit due” (Circular 2023-009). The expenses that count are embalming, burial transfer and permits, funeral and church services, cremation or interment, a coffin, a niche, lot or columbarium, and a memorial or funeral insurance plan.

Burial claim requirements

From the SSS funeral benefit page and Circular 2023-009:

• Proof of the deceased’s SSS membership, any one of: their SS card or UMID card; SSS records such as the E-1 or E-4; employment records showing the SS number, such as a company ID or payslip; or an SSS letter showing the SS number.
• The death certificate, registered with the local civil registrar or issued by the PSA.
• Proof of payment: an official receipt, BIR-registered, in the claimant’s name and showing the deceased’s name.
• A CENOMAR (Certificate of No Marriage Record), if the deceased was single.

Extra rules depend on who is claiming:

• Surviving spouse: instead of a receipt, the marriage certificate and a notarised affidavit, or an online certification, that you paid the funeral costs.
• Anyone else, when the deceased was married: a notarised waiver signed by the surviving spouse, or a notarised affidavit by two disinterested persons that the spouse did not pay or cannot be found, or the spouse’s death certificate. SSS’s forms page has templates: the Affidavit of Funeral Expenses (RET-01925), the Waiver (RET-01926) and the Joint Affidavit of Two Disinterested Persons (RET-01927).
• Children, parents or heirs may add a certificate showing the deceased had a memorial or funeral plan.

If the member died abroad, use the death certificate from the vital statistics office of the host country, or the PSA copy if the burial or cremation was in the Philippines. SSS’s page says a certificate not in English needs an official English translation from the Department of Foreign Affairs or a Philippine Embassy.

How to file, including from abroad

Online, if you are an SSS member (SSS funeral benefit page):

1. You need an SS number, a My.SSS account and a disbursement account approved in the Disbursement Account Enrollment Module (DAEM).
2. Log in to My.SSS and choose Funeral Claim under the Benefits tab.
3. Enter the deceased’s SS number, name, date of birth, date of death and the amount you paid.
4. Give the deceased’s civil status and your relationship, and choose your disbursement account.
5. Upload the documents as images or PDFs. SSS’s page says 2MB per file; Circular 2023-009 says 3MB, so keep files under 2MB to be safe.
6. Read the certification, submit, and watch your email for SSS’s notices.

At an SSS branch, if you are not an SSS member. Bring the Funeral Claim form (form RET-01222, a code taken from the file name), valid IDs, proof of your disbursement account and the documents above.

From abroad. SSS does not publish a separate procedure. A claimant who is an SSS member files online like anyone else, with the foreign death-certificate rules above.

Deadline and processing. File within 10 years of the month of death (Circular 2023-009). The 2026 SSS Citizen’s Charter gives 7 working days to process, online or over the counter.

Back to the SSS guide for OFWs.