the SSS habagat response

... and the response is the same as previous

although the details arent formal yet, it seems this is the package ...........
remember, to avail --- you have to be in a calamity declared area by the agency in charge

loans are immediately renewable, even if you only get a few centavos
in this case ------ i agree with a lady there in SSS who said that SSS should have just retained the previous stipulation of having at least a balance of 1K

real estate loans are eased ..

3 months pension is advanced

the gsis response is the same as previously discussed
20k at 6% interest, 36 months to pay, renewable in one year, loan thru waps

HABAGAT 2013 - LAST WEEKEND. a time for loans?

i expect government institutions to offer loans, hopefully at a favorable rate for their constituency or their members that were affected by this last calamity. 

probably SSS will reactivate their SLERP - just in case you dont remember SLERP means Salary Loan- Early Renewal Program.  the terms will depend on how lenient SSS wants to be.

i can remember when one of the SLERP terms (was it Ondoy then?)  was a member in a calamity area could renew the SSS loan for as long as net proceeds were greater or equal to 1K, that is one thousand pesos. it doesnt matter when the loan is supposed to be renewable.

update:  i think the SSS offer will be similar to the above except that it even be more lenient, even if less than 1k, you can still renew.  And of course, you get a real estate loan break... specifics i dont have but it is good, and of course there is the 3-month advanced pensions for pensioners

i still havent seen the offer of the others.  

GSIS immediately offered 20K for members in calamity areas (i dont know how they know if a member lives in a calamitous area or not) through the kiosks or waps. the loan is payable in 3 years, renewal after one year. interest rate is 6%, the service is waived.

and GSIS promises quick processing. If you had applied yesterday, you would get the proceeds tomorrow, 24 August.  Nice, huh?  i just have to admire the first response of GSIS.  i am amazed by how absurdly ready they were. methinks they had a plan already in place.  and their delivery system is fantastic.

now, if only their records were as fantastically accurate.  still ......

after all, contingency plans MUST be developed asap before there is ever a need for it

get more details from the gsis website. 

click here

Portability Law, RA 7699 - encore

i heard someone talking about the Portability Law.  He is lacking only 4 months and 11 days to qualify for the gsis pension -he should have requested the Civil Service to extend his service.  At any rate, now he is retiring using the portability law to qualify.  He was asked (daw) to have SSS issue a certification that says he is not receiving any pension.

My question, why?
the implementing guidelines (click below) dont say so. so why?
besides, remember issues are to be resolved in the favor of the member.
if you didnt know that, now you do

Click here for the implementing guidelines of the Portability Law or RA 7699https://www.sss.gov.ph/sss/uploaded_images/publications/Potability%20Law.pdf

A Concerned Senior and an SSS Pensioner

i was listening to an SSS pensioner talking to an SSS employee.  i knew his status as pensioner because of the nature of his questions and i recognized the uniform of an SSS employee.

one of his questions was regarding the pension  of a government employee vs the pension of a private sector employee.  this was easy to answer, even i knew why.  do you want to know why?

well, tis easy. gsis charges MORE and does not have a monthly salary credit ceiling. in return, the gsis member gets more retirement funds.

he was also concerned about SSS investments.  he wanted a list of the SSS investments -
well, RA 8282 or the SSS law has limits on the kind of investments it can do.  as far as i know, sss has only broken one limit - and that is, loans to members.

he also wanted to know what will happen to his son's contributions.  that was easy too.
obviously his son will be entitled to the sss benefits like a pension. all he needs to do is apply

are you interested too?  you can find the investment limits on the RA 8282, and if, like him, you want to know which and what investments ... you can write to SSS  to ask for such a list.  Remember though, SSS goes through many, many letters. really. i've seen the pile

HTT's Friday post: Pension comparisons

... he makes public point with points i have been trying to say forever.
there should be the same level of pensions, but even the tinny increase SSS was asking was shot down by Congress and the Senate so ..... will this come to pass?  dont know ,,,,,,,,,

Click here to view HTT's discussion on the private and public sector

What would you like as a member?

Suppose you are a GSIS member and it is the anniversary of GSIS?
What would you like to get from GSIS? hmmmm. what about a cash award?

From Philhealth?  No, i dont want anything from PhilHealth.
I would rather be well and not have to use any benefit....
or maybe a free regular laboratory test?

From Pag-ibig?  maybe a cash gift also

From SSS?  maybe also a cash gift?

what do you think?  any wishes?

You can pay SSS even if you are now a GSIS member

Yesterday, i was having a bone scan and somehow we got to talk about SSS - well, i normally ask if people are still paying for their SSS.  So the doc (?) - he was doing the scan told me he was now a GSIS member - since he is working for NKTI. However, he told me he used to work for the private sector, and that he had contributions paid in SSS

i told him he could continue to pay for his SSS contributions, and i told him to pay for the current maximum, which would cost him only one expensive lunch - 1,560.00.  And it was successful. He will start paying his SSS contributions.

i told him that SSS pensions are guaranteed by the Philippine government and for as long as there stands a Philippine government, the SSS stands.  Not a bad guarantee ......

do you go to the SSS website or SSS facebook?

if you do, what do you like about it?  or what do you dislike about it

my friends and i were discussing the merits - and yes, the demerits of websites of government institutions ....

some complain about the snail-breaking speed of some of the websites
some complain about the dearth of information
some complain about confusion in navigating through the site

so what about SSS?  GSIS? PhilHealth?

Reaction on HTT's 18 Jan 2013 Manila Standard column

i encourage readers of my blog to particularly read this post of Horace Templo.  He explains the different laws that messed-up, confused, and hassled the pensions then, and now.  makes for a good historical basis (and the FUs that occurred then, and now).  There should be a way of having similar pensions, or at least livable pensions.

Click here to read HTT's column on ManilaStandard on "Leveling-the-pension-playing-field"

Reaction to HTT's Friday post on increasing the SSS pension

Click here to read HTT's pension-adjustments-in-2013/

no arguments on this one.  i do believe the current generation always pays for the sins of the previous...
remember the sins of the father????

also true for pensions.  our dear president must indeed bite the bullet, and approve.  they bit the bullet for the RH bill, didnt they?  although one of my dear friends have said it also involved big business.....*shrugs*
for me, like i mentioned in an earlier separate post, it is about choices, and the way we involve the God one believes in those choices.  sometimes it seems there are no choices...... 

but pensions. they do need to be adjusted. i just hope that when it is my turn to get my pension, they will be favorably adjusted as well.  in fact, the president of the SSS. Emilio S. de Quiros, brother of columnist Conrado de Quiros only proposed a 20K MSC limit (it is currently at 15K).  i always thought it should be at a minimum of 30K.  i prefer 50K but no one is listening to me on that point. The Actuarial people will object,  most assiduously.  can you imagine how much furor (not Fuhrer) that will raise?  *sigh*

on the other side of the coin.  i encourage people to contribute - and at higher levels.  Higher levels mean higher pensions - and todays limits are just the pits.  too low - in my personal opinion.  really too low. and your pension - SSS that is, will be about 40% of the just the pits MSC.

i encourage entrepreneurship.  knit! crochet! sell this abroad!  People need to have some retirement plan unless you are very financially savvy, it would be hard to survive on the SSS pension alone, and if you dont have any, welllllllll ..... it would even be harder, unless you are a GSIS pensioner with their no limit MSC, or if Daddy (or Mommy, for that mater) has oodles of money like Unca Scrooge of the Disney Ducks.

so pay your contributions, and dont complain too much about the increase. it will be in your favor when it is time for you to quit working ..... 

So, whatever happened to the PERA?  i keep waiting for HTT to tackle it but he says the time isnt ripe yet....

A Christmas related post from HTT

HTT talks about Santa and Scrooge. 2 recognizable characters of Christmas fame.

SSS plays Santa every year by giving a month's pension for Christmas.  This, hopefully, will remain a benefit for as long as SSS exists    (which may be just until Friday next week - just kidding, you do know it is the date set in the Mayan prophecy, right?)

GSIS has no such equivalent, hence the title.  Isnt it about time GSIS did? 

especially after all the billions it supposedly earned.  i say supposedly because i was not in any position to audit their financial records so i dont know it for a fact.  what i know is merely heresay.


click to see HTT's gsis-a-scrooge-yet-to-reform/

i am curious about his post next week, the last working day before Christmas for most people ........

Reaction - and Agreement to HTTemplo's column last Friday

Click here for HTTemplo's column last Friday, 26 Oct 2012

i agree. as i was discussing in an old post, not all private sector employees are financially savvy and everyone needs help with arranging their retirement.

so high time for some political entity to do something about this.  do you know that some government retirees receive as much as over 100K in pension? and his poor equivalent in the private sector might have a maximum of 10K.  what an inequity!  time for this to stop.

of course, private sector employees have such things as golden parachutes and stock incentives and other lucrative benefits.  i cant detail because my friends will know that i am talking about them....

so, i thought PERA was the government's way of starting to change the inequity. but PERA seems dead.
as a doorknob.  maybe a requiem is now in order?

Portability Law - RA 7699 - joining SSS and GSIS contributions to qualify for a pension

As far as i understood the Law, portability applies only when a person does not qualify for any of the pension systems, and thus, needs the totalization of contributions made in both systems to qualify for 1 or both systems.

examples on how the portability will probably apply.

i say probably because (1) i am not a lawyer; (2) i am not a processor with any of the these pension systems

GABS

take Gabs, he worked for the government sector for 5 years and worked for the private sector for also 5 years or 60 months for each of the systems (GSIS and SSS), then he migrated and did not continue his contributions to SSS as a voluntary member (my friend did).

SSS needs 120 months for him to qualify as a pensioner. With the totalization, he would qualify as a pensioner at SSS.  So, the ratio of 60/120 or 50%, SSS will give him 50% of the pension he would have gotten based on the AMSC in the SSS.  This is like 50% of 40% of his AMSC (Average Monthly Salary Credit).

Gabs does not qualify for the GSIS pension since GSIS requires at least 15 years of government service.  He will only be entitled to a return of premium contributions with interest.

ENY

look at Eny, he has 10 years of government service and 7 years of private sector employment.  Like Gabs, he does not qualify for any of the pension systems. With totalization, he will qualify for both systems.

Thusly,   he will receive a pension from both systems.  This is where the IRR is not strictly clear - and well, i cannot access thru the internet the exact computation.  What the law and the IRR of the law states is that they will share in the pension in the proportionate amount as that of the contributions.

i take it to mean this way, the pension for SSS will be 7/10 or 70% of the pension he would have gotten based on his AMSC.

for GSIS, he will receive 10/15 or 2/3 (or 66.667%) of the pension he would receive.

hope that's clear. ask if you have questions!

UPDATE:

Click here to read the Portability law in the SSS website 

Rainy Day Today .... again

Classes were suspended once again.  Tough rains although there really isnt any signal of note.
there really is CLIMATE CHANGE, and people had better start thinking the effects of climate change.

i am reminded of calamities - and in this times of rains, and filing of candidacies
i hope voters remember who actually helped them in times of difficulties

also, i wish to remind readers of this blog - who dont want to comment at all -
to remember there are 3 agencies offering calamity assistance  by way of loans

SSS -   up to 24,000 and offers early renewal if with existing loans
GSIS - 20,000 loan with easier payment terms
Pag-ibig - amount depends on total deposits with Pag-ibig, lower interest rates

but your area must be declared a calamity area.


how about BIR giving citizens a tax break for all calamities we have ALL endured?
what do you think?

Parang yung calamity areas lang ang nahirapan nung nag-uulan.  Kung nasira ang bubong mo at hindi calamity area ang lugar mo, eh tiis, walang maitutulong sa iyo. Medyo unfair, ano?

Funeral Benefits

To paraphrase Agatha Christie, "Death comes to all"

in recognition of that fact, SSS and GSIS have funeral benefits.

The
the SSS funeral benefit is a cash amount that used to be 12,000 at the time RA 8282 was promulgated.  It was increased to 20,000 effective 2000.

Requirements for SSS:
See checklist in the form links below.

Click here to download editable funeral checklist
Click here to download the normal printed funeral checklist

Click here for the editable Funeral claim application form
Click here for the regular printed Funeral claim application form


The GSIS funeral benefit is also the same amount as the SSS Benefit.


Requirements for GSIS:  (FROM THE GSIS WEBSITE)

If claimant is the legal spouse:

• Original copy of Death Certificate of the member from NSO.
• Original copy of Marriage Contract from NSO
• Two valid ID (original to be shown, photocopy to be submitted)
• Original copy of NSO certified Birth Certificate of the claimant (if there will be claims for death and survivorship benefits). If not registered, may apply for late registration.

If the claimant is other than the legal spouse (Application will be accepted only if the legal spouse is already deceased.  In this case,  priority is given to legitimate children)

1. Original copy of Death Certificate of the member from NSO.
2. GSIS Affidavit of Funeral Expense Form
3. Original & Xerox copy of Official Receipt under the claimant’s name or if a Funeral Plan was used, a Certification from the memorial service provider that the plan was availed of.
4. Two valid ID’s (original to be shown, photocopy to be submitted)
5. Birth certificate of the claimant   or valid ID (issued by the government) indicating his/her date of birth.

Click here to visit the GSIS burial benefit details