The Social Security System (SSS) refunded the April and May 2020 loan payments of pensioners who borrowed from its Pension Loan Program (PLP) starting December 9, 2020.
SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Aurora C. Ignacio said that the pension fund refunded P253,584,557.76 worth of pension loan payments to 56,750 pensioner-borrowers.
Ignacio said that those entitled to the refunds are pensioners whose monthly pensions for April and May were deducted under the PLP and are currently amortizing as of the implementation date.
Ignacio explained that pensioners who paid their loan amortizations for April and May 2020 received a two-month refund. Those who only started paying their loan amortizations in May 2020 only got a one-month refund.
“We want to advise our pensioners that they no longer have to visit SSS to apply for the said refund. Starting December 9 and 10, we automatically credited the refunds to qualified pensioners through their respective Union Bank QuickCard savings accounts where the proceeds of their pension loans were also credited,” Ignacio said.
Ignacio added that SSS would also extend the pensioner’s loan payment term by one or two months without any additional interest or penalty. Suppose a pensioner’s loan payment term is until April 2021 and received a two-month refund; SSS will extend their payment terms until June 2021 without any interest or penalties.
Likewise, their pension loan will remain insured without any additional premiums until the end of the extended payment term.
Pensioners may renew their pension loans after the expiration of their original loan payment term. However, SSS will deduct the remaining balance from the pensioners’ previous pension loan from their current or new loans.
For example, a pensioner’s original loan term is until April 2021, but the refund extended it until June 2021. The pensioner can already renew his pension loan by May 2021, wherein any outstanding balance from the pensioner’s previous loan will be deducted from his new pension loan.
PLP was launched in September 2018 to help retiree-pensioners with their short-term financial needs through a low-interest loan. From January to November 2020, the SSS has already released P3.17 billion worth of pension loans to 69,813 pensioner-borrowers.
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