SSS urges pensioners to tap loan program

MANILA, Philippines — The Social Security System (SSS) urged qualified retiree and surviving spouse pensioners to use its Pension Loan Program to meet immediate financial needs, as the state pension fund marked its 69th anniversary with an annual gathering for nearly 4,000 pensioners nationwide.

The SSS said the Pensioners’ Day celebration on Sept. 11 was held at 19 selected venues and was intended to recognize pensioners’ contributions to the Philippine economy and society.

SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Robert Joseph M. de Claro said the activity was institutionalized to recognize pensioners for their years of work and contributions.

“We institutionalized this activity as an expression of gratitude to them for their significant contribution to our society,” de Claro said in remarks cited in an SSS press release.

The celebration carried the theme “Bawat Isa Protektado, Bawat Bukas Sigurado,” or “Everyone is protected, every tomorrow is assured,” reflecting the SSS’ stated commitment to social protection for workers, members and pensioners.

The SSS said its Pension Loan Program, launched in September 2018, provides qualified retiree pensioners access to loans without requiring ATM cards as collateral.

The program was expanded in September 2025 to include surviving spouse pensioners.

Under the program, retiree pensioners may borrow three, six, nine or 12 times their Aggregate Monthly Pension, subject to a maximum loan of ₱300,000, the SSS said.

Available repayment periods for retiree pensioners are six, 12 and 24 months.

For qualified surviving spouse pensioners, the loan amount is equivalent to 50% of their Aggregate Monthly Pension multiplied by three, six, nine or 12 months, subject to a maximum of ₱150,000.

Repayment periods are six or 12 months, according to the SSS.

The SSS said the loan carries an annual interest rate of 10%, computed on a diminishing principal balance.

The Aggregate Monthly Pension consists of the basic monthly pension and the ₱1,000 additional benefit.

A dependent’s pension is excluded from the calculation, the agency said.

The SSS said pensioner-borrowers must retain a net take-home pension equivalent to at least 40% of their Aggregate Monthly Pension after monthly loan amortizations begin.

Eligibility

Retiree pensioners applying for the loan must be registered on the SSS website, have updated contact information and an enrolled disbursement account, the agency said.

They must be no older than 85 at the end of the loan term, have no deductions from their monthly pension and have no existing advance pension under the SSS Calamity Loan Package.

Applicants must also have been receiving an active monthly pension for at least one month and must not have been disqualified by the SSS because of fraud committed against the agency.

For surviving spouse pensioners, applicants must have an SSS number and be registered on the SSS website with updated contact information and an enrolled disbursement account.

Those who are not SSS members must first secure an SSS number as a surviving spouse pensioner before registering online, the agency said.

They must be at least 18 years old at the time of application and no older than 85 at the end of the loan term.

They must also have no pension deductions, no existing advance pension under the SSS Calamity Loan Package and have received an active monthly pension for at least one month.

The SSS said surviving spouse pensioners must be the sole payee of the death benefit and must not have been disqualified because of fraud committed against the agency.

Applications may be filed over the counter through E-Centers at SSS branches and service offices, through E-Partners, or online through a My.SSS account, the agency said.

Loan proceeds will be credited to the borrower’s existing pensioner disbursement account or another account enrolled through the SSS Disbursement Account Enrollment Module.

The SSS said the Pensioners’ Day activities were held nationwide as part of its 69th anniversary observance.