New Lending Program of GSIS Set to be Offered Later in April

Members of the government-owned pension fund Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) will be offered a better loan program starting April 23, which will include a higher credit limit, longer repayment period, and easier application requirements. The new lending program — called the Multi-Purpose Loan (MPL) Plus — is an improvement from the old MPL, according to the social insurance institution.

Comparing the two, MPL Plus will have a credit limit of ₱5 million as opposed to the previous MPL program which is at ₱3 million. However, the GSIS noted that “the actual amount will depend on the borrowers’ paid premiums and monthly salary.” MPL Plus will also have a longer loan term of 10 years opposite the old MPL’s 7 years.

“Qualified for a 10-year loan term are: permanent employees who have at least 10 years of premium payments; members with existing home emergency loan program (Help) account; and special members under agencies with memoranda of agreement on MPL with the GSIS,” elaborated the institution. “Non-permanent government personnel who have at least 15 years of premium contributions, on the other hand, may pay for the loan in nine years. Previously, their maximum loan term was only five years.”

Moreover, all borrowers of MPL Plus will have a uniform interest rate of 7%, computed in advance, in contrast to the previous MPL where “members with less than three years of paid premiums were charged 8-percent interest, while those with at least three years of premiums were charged 7 percent.”

“Previously, members with arrearages [amounts overdue] in their GSIS financial assistance loan (GFAL) and housing loan are not qualified to avail of the MPL,” added the GSIS, noting the more relaxed eligibility requirements of the new program. MPL Plus borrowers, on the other hand, “will be allowed to apply, but their arrearages under GFAL will be deducted from the proceeds of their loan.”

Both regular and special GSIS members are qualified to apply for the MPL Plus so long as they have paid at least three months of premiums, are not on leave of absence without pay at the time of application, and have no pending administrative or criminal case. “In addition, they should not belong to an agency which has been tagged as suspended, and their net take-home pay should not go lower than the amount required under the General Appropriations Act (GAA) after all monthly obligations have been deducted,” it added.

There are also a variety of avenues for members to apply for MPL Plus according to GSIS president and general manager Rolando Macaset. “Members may apply for the loan via the GSIS Touch mobile app; GSIS wireless automated processing system (Gwaps) kiosks strategically located nationwide; e-mail; electronic GSIS member online (eGSISmo); or drop boxes located in all GSIS offices.”

However, only over-the-counter or in-person filings may be accepted if any of the following apply: the Gwaps kiosk is offline; the member has a lost or defective electronic card (eCard) or unified multipurpose identification (Umid) card; the member is a temporary eCard holder, or the member has unreadable biometrics. Just last year, under the previous MPL program, 444,425 GSIS members borrowed a total of ₱106 billion.

Source: Inquirer