Dear Atty. Kathy,

My husband just passed away. During the wake, I was talking to my former college classmate who used to work for the SSS. She told me that since I married my husband only after he was already suffering from permanent total disability, I cannot qualify as a primary beneficiary for the survivorship pension. Does this mean I cannot receive the survivorship pension?

Nathalie

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Dear Nathalie,

The Social Security Law provides that upon the death of the permanent total disability pensioner, his / her primary beneficiaries “as of the date of disability” shall be entitled to receive the monthly pension.

The Supreme Court has stricken down the condition “as of the date of disability”, and declared that it violates the due process and equal protection clauses of the Constitution. It appears that said condition creates a conclusive presumption that marriages contracted after the SSS member already suffered disability are for an illicit purpose. This presumption is dangerous because it assumes a fact which is not necessarily true, and thus, amounts to a deprivation of property without being afforded the opportunity to be heard.

In the case of Belinda D.R. Dolera vs. Social Security System (G.R. No. 253940, 24 October 2023), the Supreme Court ruled that such condition discriminates against the group of dependent spouses who married the pensioners after the latter qualified for pension; is unreasonable and not necessarily an effective means to achieve the law’s policy objective of preventing sham marriages; and creates undue prejudice and discrimination against dependent spouses who did not contract their respective marriages to their pensioner-spouses for the purpose of obtaining benefits and who would otherwise be entitled to the survivorship pension if not for the unreasonable classification.

In conclusion, based solely on your narration, and unless there are other factors that would disqualify you from receiving the survivorship pension, you should be able to receive your survivorship pension, which accrued from the death of your husband.

Atty. Kathy Larios