The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) has extended the deadline in applying for GSIS Financial Assistance Loan (GFAL) until 26 July 2020 for employees of the Department of Education (DepEd).

“More than half of GSIS membership are DepEd personnel. So they are given more time to take advantage of GFAL benefits until July 2020 instead of the earlier announced December 2019 deadline,” GSIS Chairman and Acting President and General Manager (APGM) Rolando Ledesma Macasaet said.

GFAL is a program that enables GSIS members to consolidate and transfer to GSIS their outstanding loan balance from lending institutions that charge high interests. GFAL’s low interest and longer payment term yields higher take-home pay for members and protects their future retirement benefit.

Chairman Macasaet said GFAL is GSIS’s response to President Rodrigo Duterte’s call to put an end to high-interest money lending schemes that leave government workers cash-strapped and wedged deeper into debts. The loan facility was first offered to DepEd personnel on 15 May 2018 and subsequently opened to other government employees on 29 July 2019.

“We reiterate that the deadline for application for GFAL for the rest of GSIS members is also 26 July 2020,” he said.

Under GFAL, the maximum loan amount is P500,000, with a six percent interest rate per annum and six-year payment term through salary deduction. If the amount of loan balance transferred to GSIS is lower than P500,000, borrowers may apply for the remaining credit as top-up loan for their other needs.