A Social Security System (SSS) member was blocked from claiming his retirement benefits after a decades-old loan he insists was already paid suddenly reappeared in the system – this time ballooning to about P81,000.

Ferdie Solmerano, an SSS contributor since 1984, said the problem surfaced only when he began processing his pension earlier this year.

He first went to SSS on 20 February 2026 ahead of his 60th birthday on 2 March and was told to open a bank account for his pension.

But when he returned on 3 March, he was informed that two loans were listed under his name – P25,000 and P81,000.

The first loan, traced to a P6,000 borrowing in 1992, was already paid by his company in 1994.

Another P6,000 loan from February 1995, which Solmerano acknowledged, was later fully settled in 2004.

The second loan, however, remains unresolved – and far more troubling.

SSS personnel initially told Solmerano that the P81,000 balance came from a separate P8,000 “calamity loan” allegedly taken in March 1995.

But Solmerano insists that loan never existed and questioned how two calamity loans could have been granted just a month apart.

He also questioned why SSS did not flag any supposed outstanding balance when he settled his acknowledged P6,000 loan in 2004.

“If there was really another loan in March 1995, they should have told me then so I could have paid it,” he told DAILY TRIBUNE in Filipino.

Adding to the confusion, Solmerano said SSS itself could not produce documents proving the existence of the alleged March 1995 loan.

“They said there are no checks or application records because I never had a loan in 1995,” he noted.

Despite this, the loan continues to appear in his official SSS records.

“It’s frustrating. After all my inquiries, the SSS portal still shows a 1995 loan,” he lamented.

He also pointed out that during a 2017 verification of his records, he was issued a document reflecting zero loan balance.

“If I really had an unpaid loan, why did they issue a zero balance in 2017?” he asked.

According to Solmerano, SSS personnel later traced the issue back to records tied to his former employer, where the original loan was processed and paid – but may not have been properly cleared in the system.

Because of this, the amount allegedly kept growing for decades.

The case raises serious questions about how old records are handled inside the SSS system – and whether similar discrepancies could affect other members nearing retirement.

For Solmerano, the timing makes the issue even more alarming.

The disputed loan did not appear in earlier records and only surfaced when he applied for his retirement benefits.

He has been advised to return to the SSS Buendia branch, where his records are kept, for further verification.

For now, his pension claim remains in limbo.

“I’ll just wait for the P81,000 to be cleared. This is really their issue – I’ve already paid,” he said.

The Social Security System, in a statement to the DAILY TRIBUNE, said it would provide assistance to Solmerano in verifying and resolving his records.