The Social Security System (SSS) said June 21 that housing loan mortgagors, or borrowers, must present a payment reference number (PRN) for their loan payments beginning this month.
This is to make it easier for them to pay their housing loans and have it posted on the same day on their loan accounts, SSS president and chief executive officer Rolando Ledesma Macasaet said, adding that this transition to real-time processing of loans (RTPL) is designed to enhance the convenience of housing loan borrowers.
Macasaet said that it enables the real-time posting of housing loan payments to individual loan accounts, ensuring a seamless and efficient process.
“The PRN for loans is a system-generated number corresponding to a loan billing statement of the individual loans by the borrower, which contains certain characters to distinguish the housing loan from other SSS loan programs,” he said in a statement.
Borrowers with outstanding loan obligations in the Direct Individual Housing Loan Program and the Direct Housing Loans for overseas Filipino workers, workers’ organization members, and trade union members should have a PRN whenever they pay their loan payments.
Senior vice president for Lending and Asset Management Group, Pedro Baoy, said that SSS will send a monthly billing containing the PRN to the mortgagors’ registered email addresses and mobile numbers.
“We strongly advise our housing loan borrowers to keep their contact details with the SSS up-to-date. This will ensure that they receive the PRN they need for every housing loan payment transaction, contributing to a smooth and timely payment process,” Baoy said.
Mortgagors will have one PRN for each outstanding SSS loan, he said, adding that borrowers can obtain the PRN every 10th day of the month.
Baoy clarified that once the PRN expires, the borrower needs to get a new PRN that contains the past due and current amounts, noting that an expired PRN will no longer be accepted for payment.
“Mortgagors can pay their monthly housing loan amortizations over the counter at SSS branch offices with tellering services, or through accredited collecting partners, such as the Union Bank of the Philippines, Philippine National Bank, Bayad Center, and SM Mart Inc. SSS will notify them through their registered email address and mobile number to confirm their payment and its posting on their accounts,” Baoy said.
As of December 2023, SSS logged 3,744 mortgagors with housing loan collectibles, amounting to P6.83 billion.
Baoy, meanwhile, encouraged members with unpaid short-term member loans to take advantage of the Consolidation of Past Due Short-Term Member Loans with Condonation of Penalty (Conso Loan), which allows them to consolidate their loan obligations, making it easier to manage their payments and avoid penalties.
SSS will combine the principal and interest of a member’s past-due short-term member loans into one consolidated loan. “At the same time, all unpaid penalties shall be consolidated and condoned or waived upon full payment of the consolidated loan.”
Baoy said members with outstanding loan obligations in their salary, calamity, emergency, and restructured loans, including the Salary Loan Early Renewal Program, may submit their application for the condonation program using their My.SSS account.
Under the program, a member can pay his or her consolidated obligations loan, through a one-time payment or an installment plan.
For the installment scheme, they must pay a down payment equivalent to at least 10 percent of the consolidated loan, and settle the balance for up to 60 months, with the length of the installment term depending on the amount of the unpaid loan, Baoy added. ||
