In a statement, SSS president and chief executive officer Aurora Ignacio said the state pension fund opened on Monday its Calamity Loan Assistance Program (CLAP) for members who were affected by the health crisis nationwide.
Members may apply for the calamity loan until Sept. 14.
“Through the CLAP, we are hoping to help with the financial needs of our members who may have lost their sources of income or suffered financial burden due to the COVID-19 situation,” Ignacio said.
Ignacio said the SSS estimates around 1.74 million potential borrowers for the program.
Qualified members may apply for a loan amounting up to P20,000, depending on their average monthly salary credit in the last 12 months.
She said the SSS also extended the payment term for the loan program, from the usual 24 months to 27 months, inclusive of a three-month moratorium period. This means loan amortizations for COVID-19 calamity loans will begin in the fourth month from their respective approval dates.
The interest rate has been likewise reduced to six percent per annum from the original 10 percent rate, she added.
A service fee of one percent of the loan amount will be charged and deducted from the loan proceeds.
Loan payments not remitted on its due date will bear a one percent penalty per month.
To qualify for the loan, a member must have at least 36 monthly contributions to the SSS, six of which should have been posted within the last 12 months before the loan application.
They must also have a work or home address in the Philippines as reflected in the SSS database; have not been granted any final benefit, such as total permanent disability or retirement; and have no outstanding loans under the Loan Restructuring Program or previous calamity loan programs.
Members must also be registered at the My.SSS web portal on the SSS website to apply for the loan.
“The threat of COVID-19 will likely remain in the coming months. To this end, we have developed an online facility in the My.SSS web portal in which we will receive all calamity loan applications to reduce face-to-face transactions in our branches,” Ignacio said.
The SSS chief said borrowers would no longer need to provide proof that they are a resident of a calamity area as the entire country has been placed under a state of calamity due to the pandemic.
She said borrowers may choose to receive their loan proceeds via their respective Unified Multi-Purpose Identification cards enabled as an automated teller machine card, Union Bank of the Philippines Quick Card, or through checks sent to their preferred mailing address.
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