Nobody reads about this benefit until they need it, and by then they're arranging a funeral and chasing PSA documents at the same time. So here's the short version first, then everything underneath it.
When an SSS member dies, the family can claim two separate benefits. They are filed separately, approved separately, and paid separately — and plenty of families only ever file one of them.
- 36 Contributions — the line between a monthly pension and a lump sum
- ₱20K–₱60K Funeral grant when the member had 36 or more contributions
- 13 Pension payments a year — 12 monthly, plus December's 13th month
- ₱20,000 The salary credit ceiling every peso here is computed on
The short answer
If the member paid at least 36 contributions before the semester of death, primary beneficiaries — the dependent spouse and children under 21 — get a monthly survivor pension, plus ₱1,000 across the board, plus 10% per dependent child, plus a 13th month every December. Below 36 contributions it's a one-time lump sum. Either way, whoever paid for the funeral can separately claim ₱12,000 to ₱60,000 as a funeral grant.
Two Benefits, Two Claims
These are constantly treated as one thing. They aren't.
| Who receives it | What it is | |
|---|---|---|
| Death benefit | The beneficiaries | A monthly survivor pension, or a lump sum, depending on the contribution record |
| Funeral benefit | Whoever paid for the funeral | ₱12,000 fixed, or a variable ₱20,000 to ₱60,000, on proof of payment |
The funeral grant does not have to go to a beneficiary. It goes to the person who shouldered the cost — a sibling, a cousin, an employer, even the funeral parlour itself if it was assigned the claim. The official receipt has to carry both that person's name and the deceased member's name.
If the death was work-connected, ask about the Employees' Compensation death benefit as well. EC is a separate fund with its own pension and its own ₱30,000 funeral grant, and it is paid on top of the regular SSS death benefit rather than instead of it.
Who Counts as a Beneficiary
SSS ranks beneficiaries, and the ranking is absolute — a single person in the higher tier shuts out everyone below.
- Primary: the dependent spouse, until he or she remarries, and the dependent children — legitimate, legitimated, legally adopted, and illegitimate — who are unmarried, not gainfully employed, and under 21, or of any age if permanently incapacitated before 21.
- Secondary: the dependent parents, and only when there are no primary beneficiaries at all.
- Designated or legal heirs: whoever the member named in SSS records, or the legal heirs under the Family Code, when there is neither a primary nor a secondary beneficiary.
Only primary beneficiaries can ever draw a monthly pension. Secondary beneficiaries and designated heirs receive a lump sum, no matter how long the member contributed.
Remarriage ends the spouse's pension
The dependent spouse's share runs until remarriage. The children's share is unaffected — it runs on their own ages. SSS does check, and pensions drawn after a remarriage are recovered.
Pension or Lump Sum: The 36-Contribution Test
One number decides the shape of the whole claim: whether the member had 36 monthly contributions posted before the semester of death. A semester here means two consecutive quarters, ending with the quarter in which the death fell.
| Who claims | 36 or more contributions | Fewer than 36 |
|---|---|---|
| Primary — spouse, children under 21 | Monthly pension for life, plus the dependents' pension | Lump sum: monthly pension × contributions, or 12 × the monthly pension, whichever is higher |
| Secondary — dependent parents | Lump sum: 36 × the monthly pension | Lump sum: monthly pension × contributions, or 12 × the monthly pension, whichever is higher |
Notice that even the lump sum runs through the pension formula. SSS computes the monthly pension the member would have earned, then multiplies it out. So the formula below matters whichever path you land on.
How the Monthly Pension Is Computed
SSS runs three formulas on the Average Monthly Salary Credit and pays whichever gives the largest number. It never averages them and never adds them together.
- ₱300 + (20% × AMSC) + (2% × AMSC × credited years past 10)
- 40% × AMSC
- The statutory minimum — ₱1,000 under 10 credited years of service, ₱1,200 at 10 or more, ₱2,400 at 20 or more
That third line is the one difference from the retirement pension. Retirement pays nothing at all below 10 credited years; a death claim can land on a member who only ever contributed for three, so the law gives the computation a ₱1,000 floor.
Then two additions that people forget when they budget:
- ₱1,000 additional benefit, across the board, every pensioner, since January 2017.
- Dependents' pension — 10% of the basic pension or ₱250, whichever is higher, for each dependent child. Maximum five, counted from the youngest, without substitution: when the eldest of five turns 21 and drops off, the sixth child does not take the slot.
And the pension is paid 13 times a year. The 13th month pension lands every December and equals one monthly pension.
Monthly survivor pension by salary credit (20 credited years, no dependents)
Basic pension plus the ₱1,000 additional benefit. The line flattens at ₱20,000 — the ceiling of the Regular SS Program salary credit.
The ₱5,000 row is worth a second look: there the ₱2,400 statutory minimum beats both formulas. At the bottom of the salary scale the minimum is the pension.
The flatline at the top has the same cause as it does for the sickness, maternity and unemployment benefits. Contributions are collected on a salary credit that runs to ₱35,000, but only the first ₱20,000 funds the Regular SS Program these benefits come from. Everything above it goes into the Mandatory Provident Fund — the WISP — a separate account that pays out on its own terms. The 2026 SSS contribution table guide maps the split bracket by bracket.
The Pension Reform uplift
The formulas above are the ones written into RA 11199. They are not what SSS actually credits right now. Since September 2025 SSS has been running a three-year pension increase, one tranche a year through 2027, and two tranches are already in force — the 2025 one, and the 2026 one that SSS moved forward to 1 June 2026.
The rate is not the same for everyone. Retirement and disability pensions go up 10% per tranche. Death and survivor pensions go up 5% — half as much. Two tranches compounded is a 10.25% uplift on a survivor pension, and that is what the worked examples below use.
This applies to new claims too
The uplift is not limited to families already drawing a pension. Members whose contingency fell between 1 June and 31 August 2026 started on the increased rate on 1 September 2026. A death claim filed today is computed on the increased pension.
One thing SSS has not published: whether the uplift also lifts the ₱1,000 additional benefit and the dependent's pension, or only the basic pension. Our calculator applies it to the basic pension alone, which is the conservative reading — and because the dependent's pension is a percentage of the basic pension, it rises with it anyway. The uplift never applies to a lump sum: a lump-sum claimant never becomes a pensioner.
Three Worked Examples
1. Long record, pension path
A member with an AMSC of ₱20,000, 300 posted contributions, 25 credited years of service, survived by a spouse and two children under 21.
| Formula 1 | ₱300 + (20% × ₱20,000) + (2% × ₱20,000 × 15) = ₱10,300 |
| Formula 2 | 40% × ₱20,000 = ₱8,000 |
| Formula 3 | ₱2,400 minimum at 20+ credited years |
| Basic pension | ₱10,300 — formula 1 wins |
| Pension Reform uplift | +10.25% on the basic pension → ₱11,355.75 |
| Additional benefit | ₱1,000 |
| Dependents' pension | 10% × ₱11,355.75 = ₱1,135.58 each × 2 = ₱2,271.15 |
| Monthly total | ₱14,626.90 |
| 13th month, every December | ₱14,626.90 |
| First-year total (13 payments) | ₱190,149.70 |
| Funeral benefit, separately | about ₱50,000 |
2. Mid-length record, pension path
AMSC ₱15,000, 150 contributions, 12 credited years, one dependent child.
Formula 1 gives ₱300 + ₱3,000 + (2% × ₱15,000 × 2) = ₱3,900. Formula 2 gives ₱6,000, and wins. The Pension Reform uplift takes that to ₱6,615. Add ₱1,000 across the board and ₱661.50 for the child, and the household receives ₱8,276.50 a month, thirteen times a year. The funeral grant works out to roughly ₱31,250.
This is the common shape for anyone under about 15 credited years: 40% of AMSC is the formula that pays.
3. Short record, lump sum path
AMSC ₱10,000, 24 contributions, 2 credited years, spouse claiming.
Formula 2 wins at ₱4,000, so the notional monthly pension is ₱4,000. SSS then takes the higher of:
- ₱4,000 × 24 contributions = ₱96,000
- 12 × ₱4,000 = ₱48,000
The family receives ₱96,000 once, plus the fixed ₱12,000 funeral grant, and that closes the claim. The ₱1,000 additional benefit does not apply — it rides on top of an actual monthly pension, so it never multiplies into a lump sum.
Run your own numbers on the SSS death and funeral benefit calculator, which shows which path you land on and why.
The Funeral Benefit
Since 20 October 2023, under SSS Circular No. 2023-009:
- 36 or more contributions up to the month of death — a variable amount from ₱20,000 to ₱60,000, scaling with the number of contributions and the salary credit.
- 1 to 35 contributions — a fixed ₱12,000, the statutory grant in the Social Security Act itself.
It is a reimbursement, not a cheque for the computed amount
Whatever the formula produces is a ceiling, not an entitlement. SSS pays the lower of the computed benefit and the funeral expense you can actually document. If the formula gives ₱50,000 and the official receipt says ₱28,000, the claim pays ₱28,000. This is the single most common reason a funeral claim comes back smaller than families expect — so keep every receipt, and keep them in the claimant's name.
SSS does not publish the multiplier behind the variable amount. The formula it published when the variable scheme started was ₱20,000 + (0.5% × number of contributions × AMSC), bounded by the floor and the ceiling, and that is what the calculator uses. Treat the result as an estimate rather than a quotation — the circular that raised the ceiling from ₱40,000 to ₱60,000 in 2023 may also have moved the multiplier.
| Contributions | At ₱10,000 AMSC | At ₱20,000 AMSC |
|---|---|---|
| Under 36 | ₱12,000 fixed | ₱12,000 fixed |
| 36 (3 years) | ₱21,800 | ₱23,600 |
| 120 (10 years) | ₱26,000 | ₱32,000 |
| 240 (20 years) | ₱32,000 | ₱44,000 |
| 400 (33 years) | ₱40,000 | ₱60,000 (ceiling) |
Which tells you something the headlines didn't: the ₱60,000 figure in the press releases takes roughly 33 years of contributions at the maximum salary credit. A typical claim lands in the twenties or thirties of thousands.
Keep the official receipt in the claimant's own name
The funeral benefit is paid on proof that you paid. The receipt has to show the claimant's name and the deceased member's name. If a relative fronted the cash and the receipt says so, the claim is theirs — not the spouse's — unless a waiver is executed.
How to File
- Get the PSA documents moving first. The death certificate registered with the Local Civil Registry or issued by the PSA, the marriage certificate, and a birth certificate for every child being named. These take the longest and hold up everything else.
- File the death claim. A dependent legal spouse who has an SS number and a My.SSS account can file online under the Benefits tab. Everyone else files over the counter at any SSS branch.
- File the funeral claim. Separate application, separate documents — the death certificate plus the official receipt for the funeral expenses. SSS member-claimants can file through My.SSS; non-members file at a branch.
- Enrol a disbursement account. SSS pays into a bank account, an e-wallet or a UMID ATM card enrolled through the Disbursement Account Enrollment Module. Approved claims sit unpaid when this step is skipped.
- Expect a settlement conference if the family is complicated. Children from different relationships, a separated-but-not-annulled spouse, or a contested dependency all get referred for documentary review before anything is released.
SSS applies a ten-year prescriptive period from the month of death for both claims. That is generous, but the documents get harder to assemble every year, not easier.
Five Things That Hold Up a Death Claim
- Not naming every child. The dependents' pension is per child, and children left off the application are simply not paid. Illegitimate children are primary beneficiaries too.
- A funeral receipt in the wrong name. Whoever appears on the receipt owns the funeral claim.
- Assuming a short record means nothing is payable. Even 12 contributions produce a lump sum, and a single contribution produces a ₱12,000 funeral grant.
- Forgetting the member's unpaid SSS loans. Outstanding balances are deducted from benefits payable — though salary loans carry a redemption insurance that may settle the balance on death. Ask before accepting a smaller figure.
- Only filing one of the two claims. The most common miss of all. The death benefit does not include the funeral grant, and the funeral grant does not include the death benefit.
Bottom Line
- 36 contributions before the semester of death is the line: at or above it, primary beneficiaries get a monthly pension; below it, a lump sum.
- The pension is the highest of three formulas, with a ₱1,000 floor under 10 credited years, ₱1,200 at 10, ₱2,400 at 20.
- Add ₱1,000 across the board, 10% or ₱250 per dependent child up to five, and a 13th month pension every December.
- Secondary beneficiaries never get a pension — the parents receive 36 monthly pensions as one payment, and only when there are no primary beneficiaries.
- The funeral benefit is a separate claim: ₱12,000 fixed under 36 contributions, ₱20,000 to ₱60,000 above it, paid to whoever shouldered the cost.
- Everything is computed on a salary credit capped at ₱20,000, so a ₱40,000 salary does not double the pension.
- Work out both figures on the SSS death and funeral benefit calculator.
Sources
- Social Security System — Death Benefit: the 36-contribution rule, the three pension formulas and their ₱1,000 / ₱1,200 / ₱2,400 minimums, the dependents' pension of 10% or ₱250 for up to five children, the 13th month pension, the ₱1,000 additional benefit effective January 2017, the definitions of primary and secondary beneficiaries, and the lump sum rules.
- Social Security System — Funeral Benefit: the variable ₱20,000–₱60,000 amount for 36 or more contributions, the fixed ₱12,000 for 1 to 35 contributions, both effective 20 October 2023, and who may claim.
- Republic Act No. 11199, the Social Security Act of 2018: Section 12 (monthly pension formula and minimums), Section 12-A (dependents' pension), Section 13 (death benefits, including the "monthly pension times the number of monthly contributions paid or twelve (12) times the monthly pension, whichever is higher" lump sum and the 36-times lump sum for secondary beneficiaries), and Section 13-B (the ₱12,000 funeral grant).
- SSS Circular No. 2023-009 — Revised Guidelines on the Social Security Funeral Benefit Program, which raised the maximum funeral benefit to ₱60,000 effective 20 October 2023.
- SSS Circular No. 2015-009 — the circular that introduced the variable funeral benefit and published the ₱20,000 + (0.5% × number of contributions × AMSC) computation, then capped at ₱40,000. The multiplier used in the calculator comes from here; SSS has not republished it since the 2023 increase.
- SSS Circular No. 2020-032 — sets the Regular SS Program salary credit used in benefit computation at a maximum of ₱20,000.