SSS Educational Loan: Where It Stands in 2026
Social Security System · loans
Quick answer
The SSS Educational Assistance Loan Program appears in the 2026 Citizen's Charter with an income ceiling of ₱25,000 and a 36-contribution requirement, but is not listed on the SSS website's Member Loans menu. Applications are received continuously on a queue system, with release subject to funds availability.
Last verified
Where these figures come from
About these figures: the numbers below come from SSS's official published sources: Social Security System | Citizen's Charter 2026 (1st Edition, External Services) (https://www.sss.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/2026-SSS-Citizens-Charter-1st-Edition-External-Services.pdf, retrieved 2026-08-31); Social Security System | Contact Us (https://www.sss.gov.ph/contact-us/, retrieved 2026-08-31). Agencies change fees and rates without notice, so confirm with SSS before you rely on them. Last verified: 2026-08-31.
There is a discrepancy worth stating up front. The Educational Assistance Loan Program is fully documented in SSS’s 2026 Citizen’s Charter, yet it does not appear on the Member Loans menu of sss.gov.ph, which lists only the salary loan, calamity loan, emergency loan program, pension loan program, conso loan program and the option to sell shares of stocks program.
This page reports both rather than picking one. Confirm current availability with SSS before planning around the programme.
What the charter documents
| Detail | |
|---|---|
| Services | 9, initial application, and 10, subsequent application |
| Office | Lending and Asset Management Group |
| Classification | Simple |
| Governing issuance | SSS Circular 2017-005, Revised Implementing Guidelines for the EALP |
| Application form | EALP Application MLP-01338 (06-2017), 1 original |
| Published total processing time | 1 hour 35 minutes |
| Published fee | None |
| Operating hours | 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM |
| Release | Continuously received but on a queue system; loan release subject to funds availability |
Who qualifies
| # | Requirement |
|---|---|
| 1 | Member-borrower below 60 years old |
| 2 | Actual monthly basic salary or income of ₱25,000 or below |
| 3 | At least 36 posted monthly contributions, 6 of which are posted within the last 12 months before the month of filing |
| 4 | No final benefit granted, meaning no permanent total disability or retirement benefit |
| 5 | Up to date on salary, housing and other member loan amortisations; those with overdue accounts are not entitled |
Requirement 5 is the one that catches people. A past due salary or calamity loan disqualifies you outright, and the route back is the SSS Conso Loan, which condones 100% of the penalty if the consolidated amount is paid within 30 calendar days.
Who the money can be spent on
| # | Covered beneficiary |
|---|---|
| 1 | The member-borrower |
| 2 | The legal spouse of the member-borrower |
| 3 | A child, legitimate, illegitimate or legally adopted |
| 4 | A sibling, if single, including a half-brother or half-sister |
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| Substitution | No substitution of beneficiary is allowed |
| Full scholars | Exempt under the EALP where tuition, miscellaneous fees or assessment balance is zero |
| Number of beneficiaries | One per member-borrower; another may be availed after full payment, subject to fund availability |
What SSS does not publish
The loan amount is not published in the charter pages read for this guide, and neither is the interest rate, the repayment term or the release schedule. None of those are stated here.
Where the money is documented instead
The EALP is named among SSS’s Short-Term Member Loans, which is the grouping that also feeds the Conso Loan and the PRN system.
| Short-Term Member Loan | Interest | Where it is covered |
|---|---|---|
| Salary loan, including SLERP | 8% or 10% per annum, 24 amortisations, 1% service fee | SSS salary loan |
| Calamity loan | 7% or 10% per annum | SSS calamity loan |
| Emergency loan | Not covered here | - |
| Restructured loan | Not covered here | - |
| Educational Assistance Loan Program | Not published | This page |
| SSS Conso Loan, which consolidates the above | 10% per annum, 1% monthly penalty | SSS conso loan |
If the EALP is unavailable to you
Two SSS routes remain open, and both are fully published.
| Option | Terms | Where it is covered |
|---|---|---|
| Salary loan | 8% per annum for a one-month loan, 10% for two months, over 24 amortisations, with a 1% service fee | SSS salary loan |
| Pension loan, for pensioners | 10% per annum, 2% service fee, 3, 6, 9 or 12× the pension, capped at ₱300,000 or ₱150,000 | SSS pension loan |
Outside SSS, the Pag-IBIG Multi-Purpose Loan is the closest general-purpose option at 1.4583% a month, covered in the MPL guide, with the MPL calculator for the numbers. For OFW families, the OWWA scholarship guide covers grants rather than loans, including EDSP at ₱60,000 and SESP at ₱14,500.
The contributions the test counts
| Figure | |
|---|---|
| Contribution rate | 15% of the Monthly Salary Credit |
| MSC floor | ₱5,000 |
| MSC ceiling | ₱35,000 |
| Monthly contribution range | ₱760.00 to ₱5,280.00 |
| Contributions needed for the EALP | 36, with 6 in the last 12 months |
| Income ceiling for the EALP | ₱25,000 monthly basic salary or income |
An income ceiling of ₱25,000 sits between the ₱24,750 and ₱25,249.99 band of the contribution schedule, where the MSC is ₱25,000.00 and the total monthly contribution is ₱3,780.00. The SSS contribution table has every row.
What this page does not cover
SSS does not publish, in the charter pages read for this guide, the EALP loan amount, interest rate, repayment term, release timeline, the documentary checklist beyond the application form, or whether the programme is currently accepting applications. None of those are stated here.
Related
The SSS salary loan guide covers the fully published alternative. The conso loan guide covers clearing the past due accounts that disqualify an EALP applicant.
Frequently asked questions
- Is the SSS educational loan still available?
- It is documented in the 2026 SSS Citizen's Charter as services 9 and 10, and listed among the Short-Term Member Loans. It does not appear on the SSS website's public Member Loans menu, which lists the salary loan, calamity loan, emergency loan, pension loan, conso loan and the option to sell shares of stocks. This guide reports both facts rather than resolving them; confirm current availability with SSS before planning around it.
- How much can I borrow?
- SSS does not publish a loan amount for the EALP in the charter pages read for this guide, so no figure is stated here. What the charter publishes is the eligibility test, the covered beneficiaries and the process.
- Who is eligible?
- Member-borrowers below 60 years old, with an actual monthly basic salary or income of ₱25,000 or below, at least 36 posted monthly contributions of which 6 are posted in the last 12 months before the month of filing, no final benefit granted, and up-to-date payment of salary, housing and other member loan amortisations.
- Whose tuition can it pay?
- The member-borrower, the legal spouse, a child whether legitimate, illegitimate or legally adopted, or a single sibling including a half-brother or half-sister. No substitution of beneficiary is allowed.
- Can I apply for more than one beneficiary?
- Each eligible member-borrower is allowed one beneficiary. After full payment of the loan, and subject to availability of the EALP fund, they may avail for another or new covered beneficiary.
- Are scholars covered?
- No. The charter states that full scholars with zero tuition, miscellaneous fees or assessment balance are exempt under the EALP.
- How long does the application take?
- The charter publishes a total processing time of 1 hour 35 minutes for an initial application, at no fee, with offices open 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Release, however, is on a queue system and subject to funds availability.
- What form do I use?
- EALP Application MLP-01338 (06-2017), 1 original, available at the nearest SSS branch office or as a download from the SSS website under Download Forms and electronic applications.