SSS cuts calamity loan rate, allows early renewal

The Social Security System will implement revised Calamity Loan Program guidelines to provide faster and more affordable financial aid to members in areas declared under a state of calamity due to disasters, including Tropical Storm Crising.

The updated policy reduces the loan interest rate to 7% per annum from the previous 10% for qualified members with good credit standing — specifically those without any penalty condonation in the past five years.

SSS President and CEO Robert Joseph M. De Claro said the move supports President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s earlier directive to lower interest rates for salary and calamity loans.

The new CLP also allows renewal after six months, provided the existing loan is not past due.

To improve response time, SSS has streamlined the activation process, enabling program activation within seven working days from the date of the calamity.

Previously, activation took about one month.

Under the new process, the SSS Branch Operations Sector and International Operations Group must endorse state of calamity declarations to the Member Loans Department within two calendar days of issuance.

Key features of the revised Calamity Loan Program:

Loanable amount
Members may borrow up to one monthly salary credit (MSC), based on the average of the last 12 MSCs, rounded up to the nearest PHP1,000, or the amount applied for — whichever is lower — with a cap of PHP20,000.

Availment period
Members have 30 calendar days to apply, beginning on the publication date of the program’s availability in a newspaper of general circulation.

Eligibility requirements
Applicants must:

• Have at least 36 total monthly contributions, with 6 posted within the last 12 months before the month of application.
• For self-employed, voluntary or land-based OFWs, have 6 posted contributions under their current membership type.
• Be registered on the SSS website via the My.SSS facility.
• Have no past due or restructured loans.
• Have not been granted any final benefit.
• Be of legal age and under 65 years old at the time of application.
• Not be disqualified due to fraud.
• Have an employer who is up to date on SSS contributions and loan remittances (if employed).

Filing of application
Applications must be submitted online through the member’s My.SSS account or via the SSS Mobile App.

Loan release
Proceeds will be released to the member’s active UMID ATM card or a registered PESONet-participating bank account, enrolled via the Disbursement Account Enrollment Module (DAEM) in My.SSS.

Repayment terms
Loans are payable in 24 equal monthly installments over two years. Repayment starts in the second month after loan approval.

Service fee
A 1% service fee will be deducted from the loan proceeds.

Penalties
Late payments incur a 1% monthly penalty, calculated daily. After 24 months, any unpaid balance will be charged 10% annual interest plus a 1% monthly penalty until fully paid.

“With these revised CLP guidelines, SSS can provide faster, more accessible financial relief to help members recover from disasters under more favorable terms,” De Claro said.

In 2024, SSS released nearly PHP10 billion in calamity loans to over 560,000 members.

For 2025, SSS has earmarked approximately PHP20 billion to reinforce the program and aid recovery efforts for disaster-affected members.