State-run Social Security System (SSS) said it will issue the revised Calamity Loan Program (CLP) guidelines to help members in areas declared under state of calamity (SOC), especially areas recently affected by Severe Tropical Storm Crising and enhanced southwest monsoon (habagat).
In a statement Wednesday, SSS said the revised guidelines include the lower interest rate of 7 percent from the previous 10 percent.
This reduced interest rate is for members with good credit records or applicants who did not avail of penalty condonation for the past five years.
“Following through on the announcement of His Excellency President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. last May 1, 2025 on the reduction of interest rates for salary and calamity loans, we proposed and obtained approval of the Social Security Commission, headed by our Chairperson Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto, to reduce interest rates for calamity loans to 7 percent per annum from the current rate of 10 percent,” SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Robert Joseph de Claro said.
“This follows the reduction of interest rate for salary loans to 8 percent per annum from the previous 10 percent which was implemented last month.”
The revised guidelines have been liberalized to allow calamity loan renewal after six months provided that the existing CLP is not past due.
A streamlined activation process for immediate financial assistance or relief was also included in the new guidelines.
“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.
“SSS Branch Operations Sector and International Operations Group units will have a more active role in the activation process when they endorse State of Calamity declarations to the SSS Member Loans Department within two calendar days from date of issuance,”
The loanable amount is equivalent to one Monthly Salary Credit (MSC) computed based on the average of the last 12 MSCs rounded up to the nearest thousand or the amount applied for, whichever is lower and capped at P20,000.
To avail of the CLP, members must have at least 36 monthly contributions, six of which must be posted within the last 12 months prior to the month of filing.
Individually paying members must also have at least six posted contributions under their current membership type.
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, must have not been granted any final benefit, must be of legal age and under 65 years of age at the time of application for loan, and must have not been disqualified due to fraud committed against the SSS.
Employers of employed members must be updated in payment of contributions and loan remittances.
To apply, a member may file or submit the calamity loan application online through the SSS website by accessing his or her My.SSS account or through the SSS Mobile App.
The loan proceeds shall be released through active UMID ATM card or active single account in any PESONet participating bank in the name of the member which must be enrolled in the Disbursement Account Enrollment Module (DAEM) of the member-borrower’s My.SSS account.
The loan shall be payable within two years in 24 equal monthly amortizations.
The loan amortization shall start in the second month following the month of approval of the loan.
A service fee of 1 percent of loanable amount shall be charged and deducted from proceeds of the loan.
The state-run pension fund reminded members that loan amortization not remitted on due date shall bear a penalty of 1 percent per month computed and charged for every day of delay.
If the loan remains unpaid after 24 months, 10 percent annual interest and 1 percent monthly penalty will apply until fully paid.
“With the issuance of the revised CLP guidelines, SSS will provide emergency financial relief to mitigate impact of natural disasters to members and help get them toward the path of recovery under liberalized terms and conditions,” he added.
Last year, SSS disbursed nearly P10 billion in calamity loans to over 560,000 affected members.
SSS said P20 billion will be allotted for the CLP this year as part of its commitment to help members recover financially from natural disasters.*PNA
