SSS expands educational loan

MANILA, Philippines - The Social Security System (SSS) has widened the field of eligible members for SSS educational loans to help more workers and beneficiaries borrow enrollment funds for college, technical and vocational courses. Members with a basic monthly income of P15,000 or below now qualify for the Educational Assistance Loan Program or “Educ-Assist.” To qualify, members must have at least a total of 36 monthly premiums, three of which should be within 12 months prior to application. Interested borrowers must also have up-to-date SSS loan payments, or a maximum of three unpaid amortizations for those with overdue loans. Maximum loanable amount per semester or trimester is P15,000 for college degrees and P7,500 for voc-tech courses. The loan may be used for tuition and miscellaneous expenses of members, their legal spouse or children, while siblings of unmarried members can also be loan beneficiaries.