The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and the Social Security System (SSS) are ramping up efforts to provide swift financial relief to members and pensioners affected by recent calamities

Both agencies have announced more accessible and streamlined loan programs. GSIS has opened emergency loans for areas affected by severe Tropical Storm “Crising” and the enhanced southwest monsoon, while SSS has introduced faster processing and lower interest rates for its calamity loan program.

GSIS said in a statement that the covered areas include Cavite, Quezon City, Umingan in Pangasinan, and Calumpit in Bulacan. Aside from the impact of “Crising,” the emergency loan also aims to assist Filipinos affected by the enhanced southwest monsoon, also known as habagat.

Government employees who are residents of Umingan, Pangasinan, and Calumpit, Bulacan can apply for emergency loans until August 23, while those in Cavite and Quezon City have until October 23 to avail themselves of the product.

Qualified members with existing emergency loans may borrow up to ₱40,000, while first-time borrowers can avail up to ₱20,000, payable over three years at a six-percent annual interest with no processing fee.

To qualify, active members must be working or residing in a declared calamity area, be in active service without unpaid leave, have no pending administrative or legal case, and have paid at least six monthly premiums.

Applicants must also have a net take-home pay of at least ₱5,000, while old-age and disability pensioners may apply if their net monthly pension after loan amortization is at least 25 percent of their gross pension.

GSIS expects more areas to be added to the list in the coming days as additional local government units (LGUs) submit their official calamity declarations.

“This will help ensure that more members and pensioners in similarly affected locations can access emergency financial assistance,” GSIS said. 

GSIS Officer-in-Charge Juliet M. Bautista said the emergency loan is “one way we can quickly respond to the needs of our members and pensioners affected by the recent calamities.”

GSIS urges members and pensioners to apply for the loan via the GSIS Touch mobile app for faster processing, or through GWAPS kiosks at GSIS branches, select government offices, or over the counter for those not yet registered.

Meanwhile, SSS has updated its guidelines for its Calamity Loan Program (CLP), designed to assist members residing in areas declared under a state of calamity. 

SSS President and CEO Robert Joseph M. De Claro stated that the activation process for the CLP has been streamlined under the new guidelines, enabling it to be launched within seven working days after a calamity. In the past, activation usually took around a month.

Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto recently approved the proposal to lower the interest rate on calamity loans to seven percent per annum from the previously higher 10 percent. This comes after the salary loan rate was also reduced to eight percent from 10 percent.

SSS noted that the lower interest rate applies to members with good credit standing, specifically those who have not availed of any penalty condonation in the past five years.

Furthermore, the revised guidelines now permit members to renew their calamity loan after six months, provided their existing loan is not overdue.

Members may borrow up to one monthly salary credit (MSC), based on the average of their last 12 MSCs, rounded up to the nearest ₱1,000 or the amount applied for—whichever is lower—subject to a maximum of ₱20,000.

Members have up to 30 calendar days to apply, starting from the date the CLP availability is announced in a widely circulated newspaper.

To qualify for the calamity loan, SSS members must have at least 36 monthly contributions, with six posted within the past 12 months. Individuals who pay individually—such as self-employed, voluntary, or land-based Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs)—must also have at least six contributions under their current membership type.

Applicants must be registered on the My.SSS online portal, have no overdue or restructured loans, and must not have received any final benefit. They should be of legal age but below 65 at the time of application and must not have been disqualified due to fraud. 

For employed members, their employers must be up to date with contribution and loan payments.

Members can apply for the calamity loan online via the SSS website by logging into their My.SSS account, or through the SSS Mobile App.

The loan will be released through the member’s active UMID ATM card or a PESONet-participating bank account under the member’s name, which must be enrolled in the Disbursement Account Enrollment Module (DAEM) in their My.SSS account. 

A service fee equivalent to one percent of the loan amount will be charged and automatically deducted from the loan proceeds. The loan must be paid over two years in 24 equal monthly installments, starting on the second month after the loan is approved.

“With the issuance of the revised CLP guidelines, SSS will provide emergency financial relief to mitigate impact of natural disasters to members and help get them toward the path of recovery under liberalized terms and conditions,” De Claro said.