CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga (PIA) -- The Social Security System (SSS) is offering various programs as safety nets for its members and pensioners.

Among these is the Salary Loan Program which is a cash loan granted to an employed, currently paying self-employed or voluntary member. 

SSS Luzon Central II Division acting senior communication analyst Julie Ann Arellano explained that the program is intended to meet the member's short-term credit needs.

Under this loan program, borrowers may opt to avail the one-month salary loan which is equivalent to the average of their latest posted 12 monthly salary credits (MSCs).

They must have 36 posted monthly contributions, six of which should be within the last 12 months prior to the month of filing of application.

On the other hand, borrowers may apply for the two-month salary loan which is equivalent to twice the average of the member-borrower's latest posted 12 MSCs, rounded to the next higher monthly salary credit.

They must have 72 posted monthly contributions, six of which should be within the last 12 months prior to the month of filing of application.

Arellano added that members who want to avail the loan program may do so by logging in their My.SSS accounts at https://member.sss.gov.ph/. On the website, members need to click the ‘Loans’ tab, then choose 'Salary Loan'. 

“Those who will apply for a salary loan need to apply for a bank account. This is a prerequisite before they can proceed with their application because the money will be credited in their bank accounts,” she reminded.

The loan shall be charged an interest rate of 10 percent per annum based on diminishing principal balance, and shall be amortized over a period of 24 months.

For more information about salary loan, members may visit this link https://www.sss.gov.ph/sss/appmanager/pages.jsp?page=salarydetails.

Meanwhile, SSS is encouraging pensioners to avail of its Pension Loan Program (PLP) for their immediate financial needs.

Qualified to avail the PLP are pensioners 85 years of age or below at the end of the last month of the loan term and have no deductions such as outstanding loan balance.

They shall also have no existing advance pension under the SSS Calamity Assistance Package, and must be receiving their regular monthly pension for at least one month with an ‘Active’ status.

The PLP allows qualified retiree-pensioners to avail of a loan of up to three or six times their basic monthly pension (BMP) plus the P1,000 additional benefit. These have payment terms of six and 12 months, respectively.

Pensioners may also avail nine or 12 times their BMP plus the P1,000 additional benefit, but not to exceed the maximum loan amount of P200,000. These both have a payment term of 24 months.

Arellano said those who opt to avail the program may submit their applications online through the SSS website. The PLP has an interest rate of 10% per annum. More information about the PLP can be found at https://bit.ly/SSSPLP.

In addition, SSS reminded pensioners to comply with its annual confirmation requirements as part of its Annual Confirmation of Pensioners (ACOP) program. 

The program aims to ensure that the social security payments only go to rightful beneficiaries.
 
Arellano pressed that failure to comply with the ACOP may result in suspension of monthly benefits. “If they continue to not comply, there is a possibility that they won’t receive their pension already,” she added.  

Those required to confirm are survivors, dependents, and total disability pensioners, as well as retirement pensioners living abroad.

To comply with the ACOP, pensioners must submit the pensioner’s reply form and bring one primary or two secondary identification (ID) cards to the nearest SSS branch.

Total disability pensioners, meanwhile, may fill out the form, attach a photocopy of their valid ID cards, take a chest-level photo holding a current newspaper for proof of life, and send these via email or mail.

For pensioners living outside the country, they may visit foreign offices where they can comply with ACOP. They may also request to be scheduled for videoconferencing via the SSS website.

Furthermore, the SSS also has the KaSSSanga Collect Program for job order (JO) or contract of service (COS) workers.

Through this program, Arellano highlighted that national government agencies, local government units, state universities and colleges, and local water districts may register their JOs or COS employees as self-employed members of SSS as they are still not covered by the Government Service Insurance System. 

“To apply, we encourage them to coordinate to the account officer under the accounts management section of SSS where their organization is under. They will talk to SSS to ink a memorandum of agreement,” she said.

The program ensures that workers and their families are provided access to the seven social security programs of the SSS such as sickness, maternity, unemployment, retirement, disability, death, and funeral along with its various loan programs.(CLJD/JLDC-PIA 3)