SSS releases P1 B pension loans

MANILA, Philippines — Loan releases under the Social Security System’s (SSS) Pension Loan Program (PLP) breached the P1 billion mark after eight months of implementation, with nearly 42,000 member-retirees availing of the financial assistance from the state fund.

According to data from the state fund, the SSS was able to disburse P1.006 billion in loan proceeds to some 41,926 pensioner-borrowers during the PLP’s implementation from Sept. 3, 2018 to May 27, 2019.

The SSS said its Bacolod branch reported the most number of approved loan applications at 2,696 and the highest amount of disbursed pension volume amounting to P56.76 million.

This was followed by the Diliman branch with 2,177 approved loan applications and P56.09 million in loan releases, and the Cebu branch with 1,547 availees receiving P38.42 million in pension loans.

Its Victorias branch in Bacolod City also received 1,733 in approved applications, translating to P36.48 million in pension loan releases.

Furthermore, the SSS said majority or 92.1 percent of the availees preferred to pay their loans within 12 months. About 6.2 percent chose to pay within six months, while the remaining 1.6 percent opted to settle within a three-month period.

SSS president and chief executive officer Aurora Ignacio said while the program has met its goal, some unscrupulous individuals still managed to take advantage of some pensioners.

She said the state fund received an incident report last month from its Bacolod branch which stated that 15 pensioners fell victim to fixers whose modus operandi was to advance portions of their SSS pension loan, then run away with the pensioners’ cash cards.

The said pensioners filed a case against the suspects with the National Bureau of Investigation last April 24.

In light of this situation, Ignacio urged pensioners to be vigilant and to avoid transacting with “fixers” for their SSS transactions, especially for the PLP.

“We urge our retiree-pensioners to be vigilant. Do not transact with non-SSS employees. Those who want to avail of the pension loan must personally apply in our branch offices nationwide,” Ignacio said.

Moving forward, Ignacio said the SSS plans to provide emergency loan assistance to its member-pensioners.

In 2018, the SSS was able to book a net income of P22.73 billion, 12.1 percent higher than the P20.27 billion recorded in the previous year.