C. Repayment term for existing member-borrowers without approved subsequent applications under these new guidelines shall be based on their preferred term per their initial loan application. For new applicants covered by these guidelines, the repayment term shall be determined upon consolidation of the account and in accordance with whichever is the shorter period of time among the following: B. Subsequent Educ-Assist Application 1. Valid identification cards or documents 2. Accomplished EALP Application form 3. Current assessment or billing statement from the school Preferred term of the member-borrower in his/her initial Educ-Assist application Scheduled term based on the Principal loan amount, as follows: A. Included in the EALP Application Form is a Certification from the school/university/college, which has a validity of one (1) calendar month from issuance date. Thus, the EALP application must be filed with the SSS within one month. Adjusted term, where the member-borrower must not be 65 years old or older at the end of the repayment term, or if not applicable, the maximum repayment term shall be one (1) year D. Any unpaid loan balance shall be deducted from future SSS benefits of the member-borrower. B. If the member-borrower has been granted final SSS benefit (retirement, total permanent disability, death) but his/her loan beneficiary still has an unused allocation, a replacement member-borrower shall be allowed to ensure that the beneficiary is able to finish his/her studies. The replacement member-borrower, who must also meet the EALP eligibility requirements, may be the legal spouse of the original member-borrower or an unmarried sibling of the beneficiary, or the beneficiary himself/herself (if already employed). C. Member-borrowers must notify SSS of any updates or changes in their contact information by submitting an accomplished SS Form E-4 (Member Data Change Request) to an SSS branch. A. Immediately after consolidation of the Educ-Assist loan, the SSS shall send a billing statement to the member-borrower either thru mail or electronic means. Payment may be made through an SSS branch with tellering facility or in SSS-accredited banks, using SS Form ML-1 (Member Loan Payment Return) and indicate Payment Type as “Educational”. B. Payment can also be made through salary deduction by memberborrower’s employer. On the Loans Collection List (LCL or ML-2), employer shall indicate “E” for the Loan Type and the initial EAL date or the consolidation date, whichever is applicable, for the Loan Date. C. The beneficiary who is of legal age shall also be billed through his/her employer, if any, if the loan account becomes past due for six (6) months. A. Initial Educ-Assist Application 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Valid identification cards or documents Accomplished EALP Application form Current assessment or billing statement from the school Proof of monthly income/salary of member-borrower Proof of relationship to beneficary For further inquiries and clarifications, please contact 920.6446 - 55, email member_relations@sss.gov.ph, or visit the nearest SSS Branch. REVISED GUIDELINES FOR THE SSS EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE LOAN PROGRAM The Social Security System announces the consolidated and revised implementing guidelines for its Educational Assistance Loan Program (EALP), otherwise known as EDUC-ASSIST. These new guidelines shall apply to new or initial applicants on wait-list status, as well as to existing Educ-Assist member-borrowers. The EALP has a revolving fund of P7.0 billion, which comes from both the National Government (NG) and the SSS. Principal collections from member-borrowers are plowed back to the EALP fund to serve new beneficiaries. Thus, loan repayment by member-borrowers is critical to the continuation of this program in the future. Upon full payment of the Educ-Assist Loan, and subject to availability of funds, the member-borrower may renew the loan for another or new covered beneficiary. The beneficiary of legal age (18 years and above) shall sign on the Educ-Assist application to bind himself/herself as a co-borrower to the loan. Henceforth, he/she shall be held jointly and severally liable to pay outstanding Educ-Assist loan obligations. Undergraduate courses offered by universities and colleges recognized by A. New Applicants – Member-borrowers who: are below 60 years old and whose actual basic monthly income is P25,000 or below have at least 36 posted monthly SSS contributions, six (6) of which are within the last 12 months before the month of filing of Educ-Assist application are updated in the payment of SSS salary, housing or other member loan amortization A. Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for degree courses B. Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) for vocational/technical (Voc-Tech) courses C. Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) for aviation-related courses D. Institutions duly recognized by the Philippine government A. B. C. D. Member-borrower Legal Spouse of member-borrower Child of member-borrower (legitimate, illegitimate or legally-adopted) Sibling of member-borrower, if civil status is single (including half-brother/sister) An eligible member-borrower is allowed only one loan beneficiary at a time. Substitution of beneficiary is not allowed. Full scholars with zero tuition/miscellaneous fees/assessment balance are not eligible as beneficiaries. B. Once the loan is due for repayment, all semester/trimester /quarter releases shall be consolidated, including accrued interests from the actual date of release up to the date of consolidation. The consolidated loan, plus the new maintenance charge, shall then be considered as the Principal Loan to be amortized over the repayment term. C. Maintenance Charge of two percent (2%) shall be imposed on the Principal Loan (both NG and SSS portions), which shall be included in the amortization. Exempted from this Maintenance Charge are existing Educ-Assist borrowers without approved subsequent loan application under these new guidelines. D. Penalty of one percent (1%) per month shall be charged for any unpaid amortization. E. A P300 service fee shall be charged for any request for replacement of loan check. New Educ-Assist applications shall be continuously received but on a queue/wait-list system. Loan release shall depend on fund availability. B. Existing Educ-Assist member-borrowers with subsequent applications must: have six (6) posted monthly contributions within the last 12 months prior to the month of filing the subsequent EALP Application are updated in the payment of SSS salary, housing or other member loan amortization, including EALP for an existing beneficiary whose account is already amortizing A. Educ-Assist loans are funded on a 50:50 basis by the National Government (NG) and the SSS. As such, 50 percent of the loan (the NG portion) has zero interest. The remaining 50 percent, or the SSS portion, has an interest rate of six percent (6%) per annum based on diminishing principal balance until fully paid. A. For Degree courses Maximum of P20,000 per semester/trimester/quarter or net tuition/miscellaneous fees/assessment balance on cash basis, whichever is lower For a four (4)-year degree program or its equivalent, the maximum number of availments shall be eight (8) semesters/12 trimesters/16 quarters, or a maximum of P160,000 full allocation For a five (5)-year degree program or its equivalent, the maximum number of availments shall be ten (10) semesters/15 trimesters/20 quarters, or a maximum of P200,000 full allocation B. For two-year Voc-Tech courses Maximum of P10,000 per semester/trimester or net tuition/miscellaneous fees/assessment balance on cash basis, whichever is lower For a semester program, the maximum number of availments shall be four (4) semesters or a maximum of P40,000 full allocation For a trimester program, the maximum number of availments shall be six (6) trimesters or a maximum of P60,000 full allocation A. Check shall be payable to the school and should be personally picked up by the member-borrower or his/her authorized representative at the SSS branch office where the Educ-Assist loan application was filed. B. Subsequent check releases shall be made upon submission of another accomplished EALP application form every school term until course completion or until allocation is exhausted, whichever comes first. A. Loan repayment starts on the month after consolidation of the Educ-Assist loan, which shall be: after 18 months for semestral programs after 15 months for trimestral programs after 14 months and 15 days for quarter programs Deadline of payment shall be in accordance with SSS Circular No. 2011-003. B. Repayment term is up to five (5) years for degree courses and three (3) years for Voc-Tech courses.
