SSS begins notifying members of late payments
Members of the Social Security System (SSS) will start receiving text messages about their late payments or past due on their short-term member loans to renew their loans after paying them off.
SSS Senior Vice President for Lending and Asset Management Group Pedro T. Baoy said that they will regularly issue these messages to its loan borrowers to ensure “they are promptly reminded whenever they miss their loan payments or have loans that have remained unsettled after its maturity."
However, Baoy clarified that SSS member-borrowers who consistently update their monthly loan amortizations will not receive these payment notices.
“We send loan billing statements to our member-borrowers through their registered email address. However, unlike reading text messages, most members do not open their email inboxes. Most of them carry their mobile phones wherever they go, so we saw text alerts as a great way to remind them,” Baoy said.
These payment notices will aid member-borrowers avoid getting penalties for late payments and regain their good standing with the SSS so they can reapply for loans.
The SSS charges a one percent monthly penalty on unpaid principal and interest for loan payments until fully paid; and if it remains unsettled for over five years, incurred penalties will exceed the outstanding principal amount and interest.
“We do not want that to happen to our member-borrowers, so we are helping them avoid reaching that situation,” Baoy said.
Members are advised to be vigilant and regularly check their SSS loan records by accessing their My.SSS account.
“If they do not have a My.SSS account, we suggest seeking assistance from our e-centers located in our branch offices,” Baoy added.
SSS members transferring to a new employer are reminded to inform them about their existing loan obligations and allow them to deduct loan payments from their salary, including any interest or penalty incurred due to late remittance.
Conso loan program
Baoy encouraged SSS members with unpaid short-term member loans to utilize the consolidation of past due short-term member loans with condonation of penalty (Conso Loan), which allows them to consolidate their loan obligations, easily manage their payments, and avoid penalties.
This will combine the principal and interest of a member’s past-due short-term member loans into one consolidated loan.
"At the same time, all unpaid penalties shall be consolidated and condoned or waived upon full payment of the consolidated loan,” he said.
Members with outstanding loan obligations in their salary, calamity, emergency, and restructured loans, including the Salary Loan Early Renewal Program (SLERP), may submit their application through their My.SSS account.
Under the loan program, he explained that they can pay their consolidated obligations loan through a one-time payment or an installment plan.
“For the installment scheme, they must pay a down payment equivalent to at least 10 percent of the consolidated loan and pay the remaining balance for up to 60 months, wherein the length of the installment term depends on the amount of the unpaid loan,” he said.