While Filipinos are admired for their resilience, it is linked with the sad reality that our countrymen are left with no choice but to survive in the face of the natural disasters that visit the Philippines every year. Recent years have afflicted the country with calamities of punishing proportions, such as Tropical Storm Ondoy in 2009 and Supertyphoon Yolanda in 2013.
Many members of the Social Security System (SSS) have yet to achieve full recovery after suffering from calamities. Among them are members who have struggled to pay back their short-term SSS loans, which can compromise the value of social protection they and their beneficiaries will receive from the SSS in the future. Overdue loans bring additional burden to calamity-stricken members, since these incur continuing interests and penalties for every month that these loans remain unpaid.
To help them, the SSS recently launched the Loan Restructuring Program (LRP), which effectively lengthens the period that delinquent member-borrowers can pay their overdue loans. Members have one year to avail themselves of the program, from April 28, 2016, to April 27, 2017.
To qualify for the LRP, the member-borrower must either be residing or working in a calamity area, as duly declared by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council or the national government. The covered calamities include the storms and typhoons Ondoy (2009); Sendong (2011); Pedring, Quiel and Pablo (2012); Labuyo, Maring, Santi, Yolanda and Agaton (2013); Glenda, Mario, Ruby and Seniang (2014); and Lando and Nona (2015). Apart from storms and typhoons, the program also applies to the Mount Pinatubo eruption and earthquake (1990s), and Zamboanga armed conflict and Bohol-Cebu earthquake (2013).
Members are granted much-needed relief through the conditional condonation of all loan penalties
after the overdue loan principal and interest have been fully paid under the LRP. It is “conditional,” because members who avail themselves of the LRP would no longer become eligible for SSS restructuring and condonation programs in the future.
Under the program, all delinquent loans of each borrower that are coverable by the LRP are consolidated under what is called the Restructured Loan 1 (RL1), which includes the loans’ principal and accrued interest. The RL1 can be paid by installment under a restructured term of up to five years, with a low annual interest rate of 3 percent applied on the diminishing balance. The deadline of installment payments falls on the 10th day of each month.
The LRP helps delinquent loan borrowers restore their good standing with the SSS, including their loan privileges, since they can apply for another SSS loan six months after their RL1 is fully paid. More important, they no longer have to worry about loan-payment deductions from their final SSS benefit claims, such as retirement, permanent total disability and death.
However, if the member fails to pay the RL1 within the restructured term, the unpaid amount and proportionate penalties will be booked as a new SSS loan called the RL2 (Restructured Loan 2). The RL2 is immediately due and demandable, and shall be charged an interest of 10 percent per annum.
A wide range of SSS loan programs is covered by the LRP, such as Salary Loan, Salary Loan Early Renewal Program, Emergency Loan, Calamity Loan, Voc-Tech Loan, Y2K Loan, Investments Incentive Loan, Study Now Pay Later Plan, and the old Educational Loan, which differs from the Educational Assistance Loan Program currently offered by the SSS. These member loans must be past due for at least six months to be considered for loan restructuring.
Members whose contingency date for retirement, total permanent disability or death falls on or before the last day of the availment period can also apply for loan restructuring. Their corresponding application for such SSS final benefits must be filed within the availment period to be duly covered by the LRP.
Borrowers can file their LRP applications at the SSS branch nearest them. They can also monitor their loan statement of account online by registering at the My.SSS facility of the SSS web site (www.sss.gov.ph).
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For more details on SSS programs, members can drop by the nearest SSS branch, visit the SSS web site (www.sss.gov.ph), or contact the SSS Call Center at 920-6446 to 55, which accepts calls from 7 a.m. on Mondays all the way to 7 a.m. on Saturdays.
Susie G. Bugante is the vice president for public affairs and special events of the SSS. Send comments about this column to susiebugante.bmirror@gmail.com.