Pagibig Financing

Pag-IBIG Fund, Housing Loans, Mortgage, Membership, Foreclosures, etc

mutual fund

Money Matters: Pag-IBIG Fund Provident Savings and Provident Claims

by

Every member of the Home Development Mutual Fund — or anyone who desires to be one – should know that there are basically three types of benefits that are available to qualified members. They are the following:

1. Short-Term Loan — This is the Multi-Purpose Loan Program of the Pag-IBIG Fund that is payable in 24 months. The one thing that makes it unique is that the loan amount that can be granted to you is dependent on your “savings” with the fund. Let’s discuss the savings part in the succeeding paragraphs. A lot of people call it with many names such as personal loan, salary loan, cash loan, etc. It doesn’t matter what name you call it, you can use the proceeds anyway you want.

Click this link to know more about the Pag-IBIG Short-Term Loan Program.

2. Housing Loan — To many of its members, the Pag-IBIG Fund is almost synonymous with Housing Loan. This is a long-term home loan program that qualified members can tap in order to finance the purchase of a real estate in the Philippines. The article entitled Pag-IBIG Housing Loan 101 is a good place to start learning about this program.

3. Provident Savings — Your contributions to the Fund are like your Time-Deposit Account in the bank. It earns interest overtime and you can withdraw it, too. We’ve already mentioned a few things about this in the past article, but here we’ll elaborate more in this article, so keep reading.

Provident Savings — What Is And How It Works

Pag-IBIG Money Savings and ClaimsI searched for the meaning of the word “provident” and I got a good response. Provident (an adjective) means “making or indicative of timely preparation for the future.” Thanks Google, I don’t have to open my good old dictionary.

The meaning of the word “savings” should be easy, right? It is explained below.

Savings here refer to your membership contributions to the Pag-IBIG Fund. If you really think about it, that’s your own money that you “saved” with the fund. If you are locally employed in the Philippines, you know for a fact that your employer is also mandated by Law to contribute to your savings.

The Pag-IBIG Fund is one huge organization that pools together all the savings of all its members and invests that money by financing real estate development projects and mortgage loans which would eventually be beneficial to its members. As such, this money is expected to grow, or earn, over the course of time.

As a member, you must also be aware of the term Total Accumulated Value (TAV), which is your total contributions plus that of your employers (if you are employed) and the dividend earned by that money.

So essentially, Provident Savings is the TAV money which you can claim in some future time as a result of becoming a member of the Pag-IBIG Fund.

Provident Claims Or How To Withdraw Your Money

This part is exciting and irritating as well.

Here’s a minor irritation you have to deal with: you can’t just get your money anytime you need it. There are set guidelines on when you can apply for provident claims.

Here are the six instances when you are entitled to get your money from the Pag-IBIG Fund. The document requirements are also listed for each of the respective category of provident claims.

1. Membership Maturity – Regular members of the Pag-IBIG Program or the Pag-IBIG I can apply for provident claims upon maturity of their membership. Maturity here means having made an equivalent of 240 monthly contributions, so that’s roughly 20 years. (See the Basic Document Requirements below.)

Members of Pag-IBIG Overseas Program have their maturity date set from 5 to 20 years. They are advised to have their POP Passbook when applying for the provident claim.

2. Retirement – The retirement can be as early as 45 years old to the mandatory age of 65. The following are the important documents to bring:

  • Notarized Certificate of Early Retirement (For Private Employee, at least 45 years old)
  • SSS/GSIS Retirement Voucher or any two valid IDs
  • For AFP, Philippine Navy and Army Personnel (Any of the following: Order of Retirement, Updated Statement of Service, Statement of Last Payment )

3. Separation from the service due to health reasons

Important Documents:

  • Physician’s Certificate/Statement
  • Notarized Sworn Employer’s Certification that member was separated from the service due to health reasons
  • Latest SSS Disability Voucher (For Private Employee)

4. Permanent and Total Disability or Insanity

Important Documents:

  • Physician’s Certificate/Statement of Insanity
  • SSS Total Disability Voucher (If Private Employee)
  • For AFP, Philippine Navy and Army Personnel: ( Updated Statement of Service, Statement of Last Payment, Compulsory Disability Discharge Order)

5. Permanent Departure from the country

If you have another to call home and you finally said goodbye to the Philippines, here are some documents to prepare:

  • Notarized Sworn Declaration of Intention to Depart from the Philippines Permanently
  • Photocopy of Passport
  • Any of the following : Immigrant Visa, Residence Visa, Settlement Visa

6. Death

That dreaded word. Beneficiaries or heirs should prepare the following documents:

  • Member’s Death Certificate issued by NSO
  • Certification from Funeral Parlor
  • Notarized Proof of Surviving Legal Heirs
  • Notarized Affidavit of Guardianship (For children 18 years old and below, or physically/mentally incompetent)
  • Birth Certificate of all Children, if any, issued by NSO or Baptismal/Confirmation Certificate

To establish relationship with the deceased member, the claimant shall submit any of the following:

  • Member’s / Claimant’s Birth Certificate issued by NSO
  • Member’s Marriage Contract, if married, issued by NSO
  • Certified True Copy of Member’s/Claimant’s Baptismal/Confirmation Certificate
  • Certificate of No Marriage (CENOMAR) (For Single Only)

Basic Document Requirements

On top of the document requirements above, the following document should come handy:

  1. Duly accomplished Application for Provident Benefits (APB) Claim
  2. Two (2) valid IDs
  3. Updated Service Record (For government employees)
  4. Special Power of Attorney and two (2) valid IDs each of the Principal and Attorney-in-Fact (If member cannot claim personally)

~~~

“Money Matters: Pag-IBIG Fund Provident Savings and Provident Claims” is written by Carlos Velasco.

Your Money In Pag-IBIG Fund

by

This article is a must read for every Pag-IBIG Member whether active or inactive. If you are a member, please read carefully. If you know someone who is a member, please share it.

How Your Money Enters The Pag-IBIG Fund

The moment you become a member of the Pag-IBIG Fund, that’s the first time your money enters into the Fund. For some, there is really no choice. All employees who are covered by SSS and GSIS are mandated and required to also contribute to the Pag-IBIG Fund. Others are voluntarily contributing to the Fund.

Is It A Mutual Fund?

First things first. Pag-IBIG Fund is just a fancy term for Home Development Mutual Fund. That’s a handy term to help you remember it easily. Unfortunately, it also blinds you to a lot of other things about the company and what it does with your money.

Next, let’s talk about Mutual Fund. Let’s call on Investopedia.com to assist us on the definition of the term Mutual Fund:

“A mutual fund is nothing more than a collection of stocks and/or bonds. You can think of a mutual fund as a company that brings together a group of people and invests their money in stocks, bonds, and other securities. Each investor owns shares, which represent a portion of the holdings of the fund.”

That definition says a lot of things. If not for the last statement, the Pag-IBIG Fund could have qualified for a Mutual Fund Company. In other words, the usual definition of a “Mutual Fund” doesn’t apply here.

Pag-IBIG Fund and Cooperative Setup
It’s easier to think of Pag-IBIG Fund as a cooperative rather than a Mutual Fund.
Here are some important points to bear in mind:

  • In the Philippines, a Mutual Fund is an investment company, owned by its shareholders who are also the investors in the fund. Pag-IBIG Fund is organized, owned and controlled by the government. Members of the Pag-IBIG Fund are not shareholders.
  • A Mutual Fund investors can withdraw (redeem shares) anytime. Pag-IBIG Members has to wait for a maturity date to claim their savings money.
  • Anyone can invest in a Mutual Fund — even foreigners. Pag-IBIG Fund is limited to members only.
  • You can’t loan against your investment money in a Mutual Fund. With Pag-IBIG, you can take out a Personal Loan or a Housing Loan.

( To learn more about Mutual Funds and Investments in general, please head over to this article on PeraTree.com. )

It’s easier if you think of Pag-IBIG Fund as a cooperative, rather than a mutual fund. That’s the best analogy I can come up with.

Pag-IBIG Money As Savings: How Your Money Earns in Pag-IBIG Fund

Pag-IBIG says that you are saving money when you are contributing to the Pag-IBIG Fund.

In a way, yes. You and your employer have combined to save in the Fund. But, unlike a regular bank savings that you have been accustomed to, your money has no fixed rate of return. That money is being invested and its earnings vary and depend a lot on so many factors. At the end of the year, your savings will earn an annual dividend which is also automatically credited to your total savings. The total savings is also referred to as Total Accumulated Value (TAV), and it includes your contributions, your employer’s contributions plus all the dividends it earns.

Provident Claims: How To Withdraw You Money

Now comes the itchy part: How do you withdraw your savings?

(A lot of our OFW visitors are asking how to withdraw their contributions in Pag-IBIG since they are no longer active. We hope this article helps.)

You may be surprised, but your savings with Pag-IBIG is not as liquid as your regular bank deposit. In other words, to withdraw it, you have to wait… 20 years or so, that’s the maturity period of your money.

Here are the instances where you are allowed to withdraw your money in Pag-IBIG.

  • The member has been contributing for 20 years and after having made a total of 240 contributions.
  • Upon retirement (early retirement at age 45; optional retirement at age 60; mandatory retirement at age 65)
  • Permanent departure from the country
  • Total Physical disability or Insanity
  • Termination from service for health reasons
  • Death of the member (of course, your beneficiaries will be the one to claim it)
  • For members who have registered under RA 7742 and RA 9679, you may withdraw your money after 10 years or 15 years of continuous membership.

( See also: The benefits of becoming a Pag-IBIG Fund member. )

Armed with the information above, I’d like to ask a few questions about your money and savings in relation to your Pag-IBIG Fund Membership.

  • Is it wise to contribute more money to your membership fund with Pag-IBIG?
  • What are the pros and cons of putting more money in excess of the minimum requirement by the Pag-IBIG Fund?
  • Should you approach Pag-IBIG Fund as a reliable source of retirement fund?

That’s something for you to think.

The Pag-IBIG II Savings Program

by

Pag-IBIG Fund is not just about Housing Loans, though this is the most popular benefit offered by the institution to its members. Once you become a member of the Pag-IBIG Fund, you also participate in its Savings Program where you get yearly dividends and which you can claim upon maturity of your membership.

There are actually three types of Savings Programs under Pag-IBIG, namely:

The Pag-IBIG I (P1) Program

This is the most popular Savings program and one that recently become mandatory for all Filipino employees based in the Philippines. So far on this website, we have focused our discussions on Pag-IBIG I and Pag-IBIG Overseas Programs and there are a lot more topics to be covered in the coming days.

The minimum monthly contribution to the Pag-IBIG I program is only PhP 200 (combined employee-employer contribution.)

Pag-IBIG Overseas Program (POP)

This savings program is applicable to overseas Filipino workers (OFW) and Filipino immigrants abroad. Minimum monthly contribution to the Pag-IBIG Overseas Program is only USD 5; actual contribution will be converted to Philippine Peso upon payment.

Overseas Filipinos should learn more about the Pag-IBIG Overseas Program and take advantage of it.

Pag-IBIG II (P2) Program

This is the lesser known Savings program of Pag-IBIG Fund, maybe because it is non-mandatory. It was first introduced in 1989 for members who want to avail of larger amount for housing loan. That is, large loan must have bigger contributions. But a lot of changes has been made since then. Today, Pag-IBIG II is much similar to P1 and POP, but with much higher dividend. The minimum month contribution to the program is PhP 500 only; this is on top of your contributions to P1 and/or POP.

Q & A: Other Important Information On Pag-IBIG II Program

1. Can I participate on Pag-IBIG II if I am already a member of Pag-IBIG I or POP?

Yes, and it is also open to POP members. You have to file a separate application to do this. Remember that this is an additional contribution of at least PhP 500 per month. This of this as a savings program with a higher yield, more than anything else.

And one more thing, to participate in this program, you must be an active member of either P1 or POP.

2. Can I apply for a loan under Pag-IBIG II?

No, Pag-IBIG II is purely a Savings Program.

3. Can I withdraw my savings anytime?

Members of Pag-IBIG Fund can withdraw their total accumulated value (TAV) upon maturity of their membership only, but there are exceptions:

  • total disability or insanity
  • separation from service for health reasons
  • death

The Total Accumulated Value is your total contributions plus its dividends.

The term of this investment is five (5) years. That is, by the end of five years, you will get your TAV.

4. What are the other benefits of investing in this program?

  • higher dividend compared to Pag-IBIG I
  • your dividend is tax-free
  • your investment is guaranteed by the government

5. How much exactly is the dividend?

Remember that you are investing in a mutual fund and your dividend depends on many factors. But so far, on the average, P1 so offers 5.5% per annum and P2 is something around the 6.5% figure. That is still comparably larger than your usual regular savings account with a bank.

~~~

The Pag-IBIG II Savings Program is written by Carlos Velasco.

The Pag-IBIG Overseas Program

by

For many Filipinos, times seem so hard these days in their homeland. That is why more and more Pinoys try their luck abroad, where the grass is perceived to be greener. They work in foreign lands that promise them the financial freedom that their native country cannot seem to give them.

For those who are lucky enough to return to their native land with sufficient money they have accumulated abroad, the first sound investment that would come to mind is an investment in real property. Home ownership is in every responsible Filipino’s wish list.

Overseas Investment

But waiting for a good sum of money to pay Spot Cash for a property in the Philippines is not only a good idea, but would also take a long time for most Overseas Filipinos. After all, there are other expenses, family remittances and obligations to take care of also.

Wouldn’t it be nice if they can start building their home in the Philippines while they are building their nest of cash overseas? In other words, building a house in the Philippines, without requiring too much upfront cash and pay for it in installments (mortgage amortizations).

Enter: The Pag-IBIG Overseas Program

To help the Overseas Filipino Workers, along with immigrants and naturalized citizens realize their dream home, the Pag–IBIG Overseas Program (POP) was created.

The Pag–IBIG Overseas Program is a voluntary Savings Program, wherein members are given a chance to set aside money for their future housing investments. With the program, members may avail of a housing loan of as much as Php 3,000,000 (at the time of this writing).

The Pag-IBIG Overseas Program is open to the following:

  1. All Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) with valid Visas or Employment Contracts
  2. Filipino immigrants and naturalized citizens

Money Talk – Member Contributions

Members of the program are to contribute monthly an amount equal to $US 5, at a minimum.

An upgraded membership is required for members, who would like to avail of a higher loan amount.For instance, if a member wishes to avail of a housing loan ranging from P1,500,000 to P1,600,000, he or she will have to contribute monthly an amount equal to the US dollar equivalent of PhP 750 at the point of availing the loan.

The upgraded membership contribution will form part of the housing loan monthly amortization.

POP As Savings / Investment

The Pag–IBIG Overseas Program not only serves as the OFW’s aid in fulfilling his dreams of owing a home. It also serves as a savings investment in the mutual fund company, that promises positive gains on the investment money. Note: The Pag-IBIG is a government controlled Mutual Fund corporation.

As a Pag – IBIG Overseas Program member, one is entitled to variable dividends from the excess earnings of the Fund. These dividends are distributed annually to the members and are credited to their Total Accumulated Values (TAV).

Members of the program have the option to withdraw their accumulated savings at the end of five (5), ten (10), fifteen (15), or twenty (20) years upon membership.

Foreign denomination contributions shall be converted to the Philippine Peso based on the prevailing US dollar exchange rate. As such, withdrawals of savings shall be made in Philippine Peso.

Member Benefits

Members of the Pag-IBIG Overseas programs are illegible to the following benefits:

  1. Housing Loan
  2. Multi-Purpose Loan
  3. Dividends

It is good to know that the Pag–IBIG Overseas Program is there to reward the efforts of OFWs through an effective savings and home financing scheme. Somehow, through POP, the OFW’s return to their native land will grant them the freedom that was somewhat denied them in the first place.

Indeed, perhaps one’s best investment in life is one’s own home. It reflects one’s status and achievement in life. This is especially true for Overseas Filipino Workers, who take chances and make sacrifices abroad for their future and that of their families.

Related Links

~~~

The Pag-IBIG Overseas Program is written by Kyro Jo.