InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5
Pension fund members from both the public and private sectors can now borrow money to help them pay for their higher education and/or finish their degrees.
This developed after President Benigno Aquino III has approved an P11.2 billion educational assistance fund program that would allow members of the Government Service Insurance System and the Social Security System to apply for education loans.
Under the Educational Assistance Fund Program (EAFP), 200,000 SSS members and 1.4 million GSIS members will be allowed to receive funding assistance for four-year degree programs and technical or vocational courses, Budget chief Florencio Abad said.
“The Aquino administration understands that higher education is vital in strengthening the country’s work force. The P11.2 billion should help ease the financial burden for SSS and GSIS members who want to obtain their degrees or finish tertiary schooling,” Abad said.
“The EAFP will also allow member-beneficiaries to develop talents essential to the workplace, as well as gain professional leverage in an increasingly competitive job market,” he added.
Of the P11.2 billion set for the program, P5 billion will be provided by the Department of Budget and Management from the excess dividend collections remitted by government-owned or -controlled corporations.
The GSIS and SSS will provide P6.2 billion in counterpart funding.
Under the EAFP, P4.2 billion pesos will go to GSIS members while P7 billion will be allotted to the SSS. The GSIS will extend a P4,000 loan amount at 6 percent interest payable over a 5-year period for all beneficiaries.
However, only SSS members with a monthly salary of P10,000 or less can avail of the educational assistance initiative.
All active GSIS members, on the other hand, will be covered by the EAFP regardless of monthly salary level.
