Last week we celebrated Grandparents’ Day by holding an online forum with the theme “Da BeSSS ang Lolo’t Lola ko” via our Facebook page. The Grandparents’ Day is a tribute to all our grandparents for being our pillars and models in cultivating good values for all grandchildren. Here at SSS, we also gave importance to their contribution to society by conducting a simple yet engaging virtual event, which was fun and informative.
The online activities include audio-visual presentation of benefits and a talk about elderly immunization. It was also an opportune time for us to discuss the Pension Loan Program (PLP).
The PLP, launched in September 2018, is a low interest-rate loan that we offer to our retired pensioners. We understand that for some, there may be times that their monthly pensions are not enough to get them by and they need financial assistance for certain emergencies like medical needs and hospitalization.
To be eligible for the PLP, a retiree-pensioner must:
- be 85 years of age or below at the end of the last month of loan term;
- have no deductions, such as outstanding loan balance, benefit overpayment payable to SSS, etc. from his/her monthly pension;
- have no existing advance pension under the SSS Calamity Package; and
- be receiving his/her regular monthly pension for at least one month and status of pension must be “active.”
The loanable amount for the PLP is based on the basic monthly pension (BMP) including the P1,000 additional benefit with a maximum loanable amount of P200,000 and a 10 percent annual interest rate. Dependent’s pension, if any, is not included.
For first time applicants, we require the filing to be done personally by going to the SSS branch following the Branch Appointment System. Please take note of the new alert level schemes and granular lockdowns being implemented in certain areas.
Renewals can now be done online. Just make sure you have a My.SSS account in the SSS web site, current and active mobile number, and must have one of the following: a valid SSS UMID-ATM card, or UBP Quick card with savings account number registered with SSS. Pension Savings Account number of SSS retiree-pensioners will be included as one of the disbursement channels upon implementation of the PESONET payment facility.
We have been doing successive campaigns about PLP so that we can help our pensioners during these hard and challenging times. Since movements are limited, we understand that our pensioners can’t go directly to the branch to inquire, so we offered this program online for their convenience and safety.
Previously, we have received reports about fixers and scammers taking advantage of our pensioners by persuading them to join them in going to the SSS branch to apply for the PLP. We would like to clarify that while some branches are intensifying the campaign for the PLP to increase the number of loan applicants, we do not authorize third parties or persons (whether natural or juridical) other than legitimate officials and employees of SSS to offer this program. This may be just one of their tactics in deceiving our pensioners, that’s why we all need to be more wary of the people we deal with and refrain from doing transactions with third parties who promise to handle the process on your behalf. Moreover, it is best if you do not give out your information, password, or ATM PIN to anybody to protect your account.
For additional concerns, our pensioners may send their message to our social-media accounts or e-mail us at member_relations@sss.gov.ph. They may also browse through our pages at our uSSSap Tayo portal, which can be accessed via https://crms.ss.gov.ph (for cell phone users) or visit www.crms.sss.gov.ph for desktop and laptop computers.
I hope we can all do our part in protecting our pensioners from fraudulent scammers. If we see or knew someone or have encountered a social-media group trying to offer SSS services for a fee, please don’t hesitate to report them to the SSS. They will be properly addressed.
Have a safe and productive week ahead!
Aurora C. Ignacio is SSS president and chief executive officer.
We welcome your questions and insights on the topics that we discuss. E-mail mediaaffairs@sss.gov.ph for topics that you might want us to discuss.