Eligible members of the Social Security System (SSS) and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) who were affected by typhoon Glenda may now avail of a calamity relief package from these institutions.
Financial assistance is extended to qualified members who are residents of areas declared under a state of calamity by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), which as of July 18, 2014 includes the provinces of Albay, Camarines Sur, Samar, Laguna, Naga City, and the town of Obando in Bulacan.
SSS Calamity Relief Package
For qualified members, SSS offers the following types of calamity relief package:
- Salary Loan Early Renewal Program (SLERP) — existing borrowers in affected areas may renew their salary loans ahead of the prescribed period under the regular loan guidelines. Members with sanctions on loan renewal due to their availment of the SSS Loan Penalty Condonation Program are also allowed to apply for SLERP, provided that they live or work in a declared calamity area.
- Advance of three-month’s worth of pension — eligible SSS pensioners can avail of advance pension payments for a maximum of three months, subject to submission of an application form duly certified by their Barangay Chairman, DSWD, or NDRRMC that the pensioner is a resident of the affected area.
- SSS Direct House Repair and Improvement Loan — interest rate has been lowered to 6% per annum to qualified applicants from the calamity area.
Another benefit offered to applicants is the waiving of the 1% service fee charged to the loan application, both for new and renewed loans.
The deadline of submission of applications under the SSS calamity relief package is on October 31, 2014, except for the Direct House Repair and Improvement Loan, wherein members are given up to one year from the issuance of the SSS circular.
Application forms are available at all SSS branches nationwide or may be downloaded from the SSS website.
GSIS Calamity Loan or Emergency Loan
GSIS members coming from an area declared a state of calamity can avail of a calamity or emergency loan up to P20,000.
The loan is payable in three years or 36 equal monthly installments at an interest rate of 6% per annum.
If an emergency loan is renewed, the balance of the outstanding loan will be deducted from the proceeds of the new loan.
To qualify for the emergency loan, the member-applicant must be:
- a bona fide resident or employee of the government office within the declared calamity area;
- be in active service and not on leave of absence without pay;
- has no pending criminal or administrative charges;
- has no arrears in the payment of mandatory social insurance contributions; and
- has no loan that has been declared in default.
For a calamity-hit area, it must be declared in a state of calamity by its Sangguniang Panlalawigan/Panglungsod or the NDRRMC or approved by the GSIS Board of Trustees.
Eligible members can avail of the Emergency Loan using their eCard Plus on any GSIS Wireless Automated Processing System (G-W@PS) kiosk installed in all GSIS servicing offices and in select government offices in different parts of the country.
To apply for the Emergency Loan using the kiosk, a member needs to:
- Place his eCard Plus on the card reader of the kiosk;
- Place any of his pre-selected fingers on the fingerprint biometric scanner of the kiosk. Using the touch screen monitor of the G-W@PS, a member must select “emergency loan” from the list of loans available on the loan menu and follow the instructions that will be displayed on the screen to complete the transaction.
Eligible members can also apply for the Emergency Loan through over-the-counter (OTC) application in GSIS offices covering the calamity-declared areas. To apply for the emergency loan via OTC, eligible members have to accomplish an application form.
For any inquiries, you may visit the GSIS website.
