The Social Security System (SSS) has launched a new penalty condonation program meant to help members settle their delinquent loans.
SSS president and chief executive officer Michael Regino urged members with unpaid short-term loans to take advantage of the penalty condonation scheme.
SSS members who may avail themselves of the penalty condonation program are those with outstanding salary loans, including salary loan early renewal program, calamity loan, emergency loan, and restructured loan.
“We continuously offer loan penalty condonation programs to help our members settle their loan balances without penalties and regain their good standing with the SSS,” Regino explained.
Under the program, SSS will combine the principal and interest of a member’s past-due short-term loans into one consolidated loan, while all unpaid penalties will be consolidated and condoned upon full payment of the consolidated loan.
Interested members must meet the requirements to qualify for the program. They must have a past-due short-term member loan at the time of their application, have not been granted any final benefit such as permanent total disability or retirement, have not been disqualified due to fraud committed against the SSS, and have an active My.SSS account.
Regino said members may pay their consolidated loan through a one-time payment within 30 calendar days after receiving the approval notice or they may also opt to pay through installment.
Under the installment scheme, the members must pay a down payment equivalent to at least 10 percent of the consolidated loan within 30 calendar days after receiving the approval notice.
They could pay the remaining balance for up to 60 months, depending on the amount.
“We want to collect the past-due loans from our members. However, we also recognize that the pandemic has greatly affected the livelihood of many of them,” Regino said.
“At this point, they might already be able to pay their loan obligations. Hence, we designed this consolidated program to help them settle their loan obligations by condoning the penalties and offering flexible payment terms,” he added.