SSS expands loan scheme

MANILA, Philippines—The Social Security System has expanded the membership base that is qualified to avail of its educational loans.

Emilio de Quiros Jr., SSS president and chief executive, said in a statement members who earn as much as P12,000 a month can apply for the agency’s Educational Assistance Loan Program, or Educ-Assist.

De Quiros said the limit was raised from P10,000 previously to enable more members—especially minimum wage and low-income workers in Metro Manila—to borrow enrolment funds for college, vocational or technical courses.

He said the revision on the elibigility ceiling was due to changes in minimum wage and cost of living allowance in the National Capital Region (NCR), where about half of SSS members are based.

“The minimum basic pay will now amount to over P10,000 a month in NCR due to scheduled wage increases in 2012,” he explained.

De Quiros noted that the NCR regional wage board recently granted a two-step P30 pay increase for private-sector workers in Metro Manila, which will raise the minimum basic pay to P456 a day starting November 1.

Educ-Assist provides maximum loan releases of P15,000 for college and P7,500 for vocational or technical courses at every term, be it under a semestral or trimestral system.

The SSS launched the P7-billion educational loan facility last month as part of national government’s campaign to promote economic productivity and help workers defray education costs to upgrade their knowledge and skills for current and future employment.

Eligible SSS members can use EALP loans for tuition and miscellaneous fees of one beneficiary, who can be the SSS member himself or herself, the member’s legal spouse or child, or a sibling of an unmarried member.—Ronnel W. Domingo