Families visiting cemeteries this Undas are remembering people whose funerals someone had to pay for, usually within a few days of the death. Reports this week put that bill in concrete terms. San Fernando Funeral Homes in Quezon City offers basic packages with a wooden casket starting at ₱65,000, and an air-conditioned chapel adds ₱10,000 to ₱25,000 a day. Provincial funeral homes quoted ₱25,000 to ₱40,000 for their least expensive caskets and up to ₱400,000 for the most expensive. Newlife Crematorium in Caloocan City lists cremation with an urn at ₱23,500. Burial space is a separate cost, and in many cemeteries it is leased, often for up to five years.

The Bill Comes in Days. The Help Comes Later.

A wake usually runs for several nights, and the funeral home, the chapel and the cemetery generally expect to be paid during it or soon after. The main sources of outside money work on a different schedule.

SSS reimburses; it does not pay in advance. The Social Security System’s funeral benefit goes to whoever paid for the funeral of a deceased member or pensioner, and it pays the lower of two amounts: the documented funeral expenses or the benefit computed from the member’s record. A member with at least 36 monthly contributions qualifies for ₱20,000 to ₱60,000, depending on contributions and salary credit. A member with 1 to 35 contributions qualifies for a fixed ₱12,000. Because the claim rests on proof of payment, the name on the receipts matters.

GSIS pays a fixed amount. For government workers and qualified pensioners, the Government Service Insurance System raised its funeral benefit to ₱50,000 for deaths on or after July 13, 2026, from ₱30,000. It is paid once, to one qualified claimant, and claimants other than the surviving spouse must show that they paid the funeral expenses.

Life insurance has a 60-day clock that starts with the claim. The Insurance Code requires the proceeds of a policy that matures by death to be paid within 60 days after the claim is presented and proof of death is filed. As we covered last week, that clock does not start until the family files, and filing needs documents such as the death certificate.

What a Memorial Plan Is, and What It Isn’t

A memorial plan is a pre-need plan. You pay ahead, often in installments, and the company delivers funeral services when they are needed. Under the Pre-Need Code, pre-need companies are supervised by the Insurance Commission, which publishes the list of companies licensed to sell plans. An industry executive said this year that only about 14 or 15 licensed pre-need companies remain, down from more than 100 that once operated.

The legal distinction is useful at home too. Insurance pays against a risk. A pre-need plan is a contract to deliver a service. A memorial plan covers the services written in it, so whether it includes the chapel, the cemetery lot, cremation or transport depends on the contract. Life insurance pays money to a beneficiary, who decides what it goes to. Many families with life cover still need cash on hand for the first week.

What We Don’t Know

This column does not know your contribution record, what your plan includes, or what kind of funeral your family would choose. The prices above are examples from recent reports, not quotes, and they vary by city, by provider and by how many nights a wake runs. SSS and GSIS determine the final amount from their own records and the rules in force on the date of death.

The Questions Worth Asking Your Household

If a death happened this month, whose money would pay the funeral home in the first week?

Whose name would go on the receipts, and is that the person who would file the SSS or GSIS claim?

Who in the family is covered by SSS and who by GSIS, and does anyone know roughly how many contributions they have?

If you have a memorial plan, what does the contract include, and does your family know which company to call and where the plan documents are?

Has your family talked about burial or cremation, and where?

Should you have questions regarding your Life Insurance policy or how to get covered, feel free to message me on my socials or email me at elyvalendez[at]gmail[dot]com.

What If runs every Monday.