The Social Security System (SSS) announced that it would provide a calamity assistance package for its members and pensioners in areas that are declared and will be declared under the State of Calamity by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) due to Super Typhoon Rolly and Typhoons Quinta and Ulysses.
SSS President and CEO Aurora C. Ignacio said that starting 27 November 2020, the SSS will open three programs to provide financial assistance for typhoon-affected members and pensioners.
These programs are the Calamity Loan Assistance Program (CLAP) for qualified members and Three-month Advance Pension for SS and Employees’ Compensation (EC) pensioners, which will accept applications until 26 February 2021. Also, there is a Direct House Repair and Improvement Loan for qualified members, which will be open for one year from the issuance of its corresponding circular.
Calamity Loan Assistance Program
Under the CLAP, qualified members may avail of a loan equivalent to the average of their last 12 monthly salary credits (MSC) rounded up to the nearest thousand or the amount they applied for, whichever is lower.
To qualify for CLAP, members must have a My.SSS account at www.sss.gov.ph; have at least 36 monthly contributions, six of which should be posted within the last 12 months before the month of application; be a resident of an NDRRMC-declared calamity area and suffered damage/loss to their properties due to Super Typhoon Rolly and Typhoons Quinta and Ulysses; have not been granted any final benefit such as permanent total disability or retirement and; have no outstanding loans under the Loan Restructuring Program or previous CLAPs.
CLAP applications must be filed online through members’ respective My.SSS accounts. Their employers must certify applications of employed members through the employers’ My.SSS account.
The calamity loan is payable within two years in equal monthly installments with a 10 percent interest rate per annum and a one percent penalty for late payments. The service fee of one percent of the loan amount is waived.
Amortizations will start on the second month following the date of its approval. The payment deadline for the said loan is every last day of the month following the applicable month.
Calamity loan proceeds will be credited through members’ disbursement account registered with the SSS, which may be a Philippine Electronic Fund Transfer System and Operations Network participating bank account; Unified Multi-Purpose Identification Card enrolled as an ATM card; or Union Bank of the Philippines Quick Card.
Three-month Advance Pension
SS and EC pensioners residing in NDRRMC-declared calamity areas due to Super Typhoon Rolly and Typhoons Quinta and Ulysses may apply for the Three-month Advance Pension.
However, retiree-pensioners who have existing loans under the Pension Loan Program (PLP) are not qualified for the advance pension.
Applications for the said program may be filed at any SSS branch.
Direct House Repair and Improvement Loan
Employed, self-employed, voluntary, and Overseas Filipino Worker SSS members whose residence is in an NDRRMC-declared calamity area and whose house was destroyed or damaged by Super Typhoon Rolly and Typhoon Quinta and Ulysses may apply for a Direct House Repair and Improvement Loan.
Under the program, they may avail of a loan of up to one million pesos.
To qualify, the member must have at least 24 monthly contributions, three of which posted within the last 12 months before the month of application; not more than 60 years old at the time of application; have not been previously granted a Direct House Repair and Improvement Loan; have not been granted any final benefit nor refunded SSS contribution; and he/she and his/her spouse, if applicable, must be up to date in the payment of all other existing loan/s with the SSS.
The SSS has waived the processing fee for the said loan program. It has an annual interest rate of eight percent for loans of up to P450,000 and nine percent for loans over P450,000.
Payment terms for the loan program must be a multiple of five years with a maximum of 20 years, plus a six-month moratorium. The loan term must not exceed the house/improvement’s economic life, as determined by the SSS; and the age of the applicant must not exceed 65 years old at the end of the term.
The said loan will be due starting on the seventh month from its approval and is payable in equal monthly installments.
Applications for the program may be filed at the Member Loans Department, in the SSS Main Office (for NCR), and Housing and Acquired Asset Management Sections (for non-NCR).
As of writing, NDRRMC-declared State of Calamity areas due to the said typhoons are the Provinces of Cavite, Catanduanes, Camarines Sur, Batangas, Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, Marinduque, and Albay; and the municipalities of Mulanay in Quezon; Culion in Palawan; Banton, Concepcion, and Corcuera, in Romblon; and Asipulo in Ifugao.
The said calamity assistance package will also cover other areas that may be declared by the NDRRMC as a State of Calamity due to the said typhoons.
For more information, follow the SSS on Facebook at the “Philippine Social Security System,” Instagram at “mysssph,” Twitter at “PHLSSS,” or join its Viber community at “MYSSSPH Updates.”
