The Social Security System (SSS) will expand its member loan programs and make borrowing easier for Filipino workers and pensioners under its new president and chief executive officer, Victor Alfonso Limlingan.
Limlingan took his oath on October 16 before Finance Secretary Frederick Go, who chairs the Social Security Commission (SSC). He succeeds Robert Joseph Montes de Claro, who was appointed secretary of the Department of Information and Communications Technology. Limlingan previously sat on the SSC as the representative of the employers’ group, where he chaired its Risk Management and Actuary Committee.
Expanding loans is his first priority, followed by better returns on the SSS investment portfolio and a relaunch of the Pension Booster Program. He also plans to shorten the long queues at SSS branches.
SSS members can currently borrow through salary, pension, calamity and micro loans. The loan portfolio reached about ₱170 billion as of September, most of it in salary loans, and grew by about 5 percent from a year earlier. The SSS can lend up to 25 percent of its investment reserve fund, which is projected to reach ₱1.5 trillion by the end of the year. That limit gives the agency about ₱300 billion in lending capacity.
Two programs already have funds set aside. The SSS Micro Loan Program, known as SSS LoanLite, has about ₱40 billion earmarked as an alternative to high-cost informal lenders. The agency also has about ₱40 billion ready for an energy sustainability loan program that will offer ₱200,000 to ₱400,000, payable over four to seven years. The SSS has released nearly ₱20 billion under its emergency loan program as of September, and the program remains open until April 30, 2027.
The Pension Booster Program is a voluntary savings scheme open to all members who want to invest their excess income.
In the first half of the year, SSS total assets reached ₱1.35 trillion and its investment reserve fund stood at ₱1.31 trillion. Investment income for the period was ₱27.157 billion. It is projected to reach ₱71.412 billion by year-end, with overall net income expected to exceed ₱100 billion.
