The Social Security System (SSS) said July 23 that it will issue the revised calamity loan program (CLP) guidelines, aimed at helping members in areas declared under a state of calamity.
SSS president and chief executive officer Robert Joseph De Claro said they obtained the approval of the Social Security Commission to reduce interest rates for calamity loans to seven percent per annum, from the current rate of 10 percent.
“This follows the reduction of interest rate for salary loans to eight percent per annum from the previous 10 percent, which was implemented last month,” De Claro said in a statement, adding the reduced interest rate is for members with good credit records, like those applicants without availment of penalty condonation for the past five years.
To further enhance financial assistance to members, the revised guidelines have been liberalized to allow calamity loan renewal after six months, provided that the existing CLP is not past due.
“An important improvement in the revised guidelines is the streamlining of the activation process of the CLP, which will allow activation of the program within seven working days from the calamity event date. Previously, activation of the calamity loan program takes about one month,” De Claro said.
The loanable amount is equivalent to one monthly salary credit (MSC) computed based on the average of the last 12 MSCs, and not higher than P20,000.
Members must have at least 36 monthly contributions – six of which must be posted within the last 12 months prior to the month of loan filing. For individually paying members, they must also have at least six posted contributions under their current membership type, whether self-employed, voluntary, or land-based OFW.
A member must be registered in the SSS website (My.SSS facility) for filing of online application, must have no past due loan accounts and no outstanding restructured loan, and under 65 years of age at the time of application for loan, among others.
“With the issuance of the revised CLP guidelines, SSS will provide emergency financial relief to mitigate the impact of natural disasters to members and help get them toward the path of recovery under liberalized terms and conditions,” De Claro said.
In 2024, the SSS disbursed nearly P10 billion in calamity loans to over 560,000 affected members. To further strengthen the CLP this year, the SSS is earmarking approximately P20 billion, underscoring its commitment to helping members recover financially from natural disasters. ||
