by SSS QUEZON CITY - More than 265,000 borrowers of Social Security System (SSS) short-term loans have benefited from affordable payment...
by SSS
QUEZON CITY - More than 265,000 borrowers of Social Security System (SSS) short-term loans have benefited from affordable payment terms and conditional condonation of loan penalties under the ongoing SSS Loan Restructuring Program (LRP) within just five months since its launch.
SSS Assistant Vice President for Member Loans Department Boobie Angela A. Ocay said that the LRP, which opened its one-year availment period last April 28, already helped 265,705 member-borrowers settle their overdue loan obligations of P4.28 billion based on figures as of end-September 2016.
“We encourage other delinquent borrowers to apply for LRP now to avoid the stress of filing last-minute applications. While their penalties may be condoned, if they don’t avail of the LRP right away, the loan interest which they’ll have to pay will continue to accrue with every month of delay,” Ocay said.
The LRP offers delinquent SSS borrowers the rare opportunity to settle their overdue loans by only paying their loan principal and interest, and incur significant savings from the conditional condonation of loan penalties once their obligation has been paid in full. The deadline for availment falls on April 27, 2017.
Members with unpaid SSS loans will also incur deductions in their final benefit claims for retirement, total disability and death. For example, a retiring member who failed to settle his SSS loan will have his loan principal, continuing interest and accumulated penalties deducted from his retirement benefit.
Ocay said the total availments include borrowers who took advantage of the special weekend schedule offered by SSS last month as part of the 59th SSS anniversary celebration, which enabled a total of 10,021 members to conveniently file their LRP applications in any of the four Saturdays of September.
“From an initial 1,300 applications on September 3, the LRP transaction volume grew to over 2,000 in the next two Saturdays of that month. SSS recorded the highest number of applications under the special Saturday schedule on September 24, with over 4,000 members filing for the LRP that day,” she said.
During the four Saturdays of September, thousands of borrowers applied for the LRP at participating SSS branches and foreign representative offices to settle a total of P168.64 million in overdue short-term loans.
The LRP aims to provide financial relief to borrowers affected by any of the covered calamities and disasters who struggle to pay their SSS loans. To qualify, the borrower should be residing or employed in any of the calamity areas declared by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) or the national government.
The SSS loan must also be overdue for at least six months as of April 28, 2016 to qualify for the LRP. Members can pay their delinquent loan in full within 30 days with no additional interest, or apply for an installment payment term of up to five years with a minimal three percent annual interest.
“Members who benefited from the LRP are already excluded from future restructuring or condonation programs as part of our terms and conditions. The good news is that they can apply for another SSS loan six months after they have fully paid their obligation under the LRP,” Ocay said.
For their convenience, members are advised to open a My.SSS account at the SSS website (www.sss.gov.ph) so that they can view their loan statement of account and other SSS data through the Internet. LRP application forms are also downloadable from the SSS website.(SSS)
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