4 Loans ($1000-$5000) on SSI? Case Studies in NY, PA, IL, FL

We thought that we should include some approved loans that came through our website from people on SSI, or in long form, Social Security Income, also known as Supplemental Security Income.

Also called Social Security Benefits, but as far as a blanket term for borrowers and lenders, and this discussion, we will use the SSI acronym for short.

This will cover loans for retired people over the ages of 65 years old, people who are blind, disabled, or on disability insurance because they physically can no longer work.

We get applications filled out periodically here at FUSA from people who are collecting SSI and they need to get small loans approved for many many different reasons.

As per usual here, we are not concerned with the reason why someone is collecting SSI, and would need a loan – we are concerned with getting them approved. It’s always difficult to hear about individuals (men or women or children) who are in a very tight financial situation and they don’t really have any collateral to speak of for a traditional loan, and the only income they can show is their Social Security benefits. So we have tried to work with our lenders so that we can bring them legitimate loan applications from people who are collecting supplemental security insurance, and whose monthly bills are reasonably low enough that they can be qualified for a short-term loan.

The other issue we had with finding lenders who will lend money to people who are on government assistance, is the effective APR of these loans in question. People who are collecting SSI certainly cannot afford to have predatory lenders in their lives, and it’s very important to us here (and our staff) that blind, disabled, or 65 and older applicants do not get sucked into some kind of ridiculous APR, and find themselves in an even worse situation financially.

Please read our privacy and terms of service document to understand how important it is that you as the applicant (and possible approved customer) understand fully the repercussions of the lenders’ terms on the note. You should read the terms of service even if the loan is only for a small amount of money, like in these four examples where the borrowers borrowed $1000, $2000, $3000, and $5000.

In this post we go into some depth on four different loans that were approved for people who were collecting SSI. All four of these people were over the age of 65, and were living on a fixed income.

Three of these applicants were retirees at the time of application for their loans, and one of these applicants has never actually been an employee. She was a stay-at-home mom all of her life, and kept care of her family and all of the day-to-day things that have to be taken care of. She’s retired now, and her Social Security benefits are the only form of income she has. We will get into her story a little later.

The first SSI recipient was approved for a $3000 loan in Philadelphia PA. The second borrower requested a $5000 loan and she lives in Miami Florida. The third borrower at the age of 66 was only borrowing $1000 but at a high effective APR. The last SSI recipient on our list lives in Bridgeport New York and required a $2000 loan because she had to pay off some unfortunate bills that she was surprised with. Every single one of these applicants applied here on this website. They were approved for their loans by our screened and monitored lenders.

Okay – let’s get on with this first borrower and lender.

$3000 Loan in Philadelphia, PA for SSI Recipient

$3000 Loan For People Collecting Social Security Benefits (Philadelphia, PA)

So our first applicant who was approved for a loan while being a Social Security beneficiary, is a 68-year-old man who is married and living in Philadelphia. Him and his wife grew up in Pennsylvania and have lived there their entire lives. They needed to get a little loan because they had plans to travel East over to Mississippi to visit their son and daughter who run a small bakery there. This trip was very important to them as their health was beginning to fail, and this was sort of something that is on their bucket list.

We would like to mention that this fella is a Veteran of the Vietnam War (two vets here today) in which he did three Tours of Duty. Do you think maybe he deserves a little bit of help in the last years of his life? You can answer that question for yourself.

The loan amount in this case was $3000 and the effective APR he ended up getting approved for with the private lender was 12%. This came to a monthly payment of $97.39, with a total pay back to the lender of $3555, with the total amount of interest being $555. This was a three-year loan with monthly payments that were extremely reasonable for them, and this is what convinced them to go with this private lender.

This elderly couple lives in Northeast Philadelphia and this lender services the Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, and Southwest quadrants of Philly. They’ve been doing business there since 1998 and we have trusted them with many different loans in the Philadelphia area. So far we have had no complaints regarding them (at all) and we are happy to have them as one of our approved lenders.

The actual area in Philadelphia that this borrower lives in is Olde Kensington, which is very close to Cecil B. Moore Avenue and North American Street – they have been living there for over 50 years, so it’s safe to say that they are certainly secure borrowers for a lender who is willing to play fair ball.

Even with the effective APR of 12%, the monthly payments ended up being affordable because this man collects $650 a month from his SSI benefits. They have monthly bills of course, but his wife gets a little bit of money as well, and they don’t have any other substantial bills except food. They don’t drive vehicles, and their hobbies are inexpensive.

$3000 Social Security Beneficiary – Loan Data from PA

• SSI Loan Applicant’s Age: 68
• SSI Loan Applicant’s Sex: Male
• SSI Loan Applicants Marital Status: Married
• Finalized Approval of Loan: $3000
• Effective APR: 12%
• Monthly Payment: $97.39
• Total Monies Paid To Lender: $3554.90
• Total Interest Paid: $554.90
• Term Length (SSI Loan): 3 years
• Credit Rating Number (FICO Number): 621
• Loan Product Nomenclature: SSIL
• SSI Loan Applicant’s Area of Residence: North East Philly
• Other Areas of Lender’s Service(s): NE/NW Philadelphia, SE/SW Philadelphia, Camden, Havertown, Norristown, Cherry Hill
• Main City Center of Application Origin: Philadelphia
• SSI Applicant’s State: PA
• Lender Classification: Social Security Income Loans
• Applicant’s Bank: BOA (Bank of America)
• Borrower’s Zip Code: 19132

$5000 Loan in Miami, FL for SSI Applicant

$5000 Loan for Borrower Collecting Social Security Benefits (Miami, FL)

Our second application is from a woman at the age of 71 years old who is living on Social Security and gets a minimal amount of money per month at $520. This woman never did get married and she is a gay woman living with her partner in Miami Florida. She wanted a loan of $5000 to be approved and she wanted to pay it back over a five-year period.

Ultimately she was approved with one of our lenders at an APR of 15% (effective) with monthly payments of just over $100 a month, with the total monies paid back to the lender of approximately $7000, and the total amount of interest paid over the five-year term at $2000 approximately.

This lady originally grew up and lived in Brooklyn New York, and at one time lived in Madison Wisconsin, and Dayton, Ohio. She traveled for many years working as a missionary for the Church of Latter-Day Saints, and her life experience has been rich to say the least.

Unfortunately, she never did get a pension from all of her work because she really didn’t consider wealth as a large priority in her younger years. She never opted for a traditional marriage just for the sake of security (like some people do in marriage).

She has always been on her own, and she is very forthright – she can look after herself. However, like so many aging people in the United States, she needs a little bit of help from the government in the form of monthly SSI payments.

This lender has worked and provided loans to people (of all ages and backgrounds) all throughout the State of Florida, including Tampa Bay, Kissimmee, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, Coral Springs, and Port St. Lucie. So far this lender’s reputation has been clean – not been a problem as far as trying to rip people off with extremely high interest rates and predatory lending terms.

If we ever hear about one of our lenders acting in a predatory manner, we shut them down immediately and they are never allowed to use our services to take advantage of honest borrowers again.

$5000 Loan for SSI Recipient – Loan Data from Florida

• SSI Loan Applicant’s Age: 71
• SSI Loan Applicant’s Sex: Female
• SSI Loan Applicants Marital Status: Single
• Finalized Approval of Loan: $5000
• Effective APR: 15%
• Monthly Payment: $113.52
• Total Monies Paid To Lender: $6905.89
• Total Interest Paid: $1905.89
• SSI Loan Term Length: 5 years
• Credit Rating Number (FICO Number): 597
• Loan Product Nomenclature: SSIL
• SSI Loan Applicant’s Area of Residence: Coral Terrace
• Other Areas of Lender’s Service(s): Hialeah, Fountianebleau, Coral Gables, Kendall, North Miami, Hollywood, Pembroke Pines
• Main City Center of Application Origin: Miami
• SSI Applicant’s State: Florida
• Lender Classification: Social Security Income Loans
• Applicant’s Bank: PNC Bank
• Borrower’s Zip Code: 33155

$1000 Loan in Chicago, IL for SSI Recipient

Data on $1000 Loan With Social Security Benefits (IL)

Our third applicant hails from Chicago Illinois and is also collecting Supplementary Security Income from the government, due to the fact that he is disabled and 66 years old this year. This man is single as well and was simply asking for a small loan of $1000. This loan was not approved by one of our vetted lenders, but we would like to show you what it looks like when a predatory lender gets their claws into somebody who is desperate to get a loan.

To get this information, we approached this borrower about his loan, and the status of his SSI benefits in regards to how much money he collects from the government each month from assistance. He is collecting the maximum amount allowed on SSI and he gave us the details on the loan that he got approved for which is very small at $1000.

The finalized approved loan with this lender (once again, remember that this is not one of our approved lenders) was for $1000, at a whopping effective APR of 32%, over a two-year period with monthly payments of $55 approximately. The total monies paid back to the lender for this very short term was just over $1300, and the total interest was just over $300. The actual detailed numbers of this loan are in the table below.

The FICO score of this retired man is at 660, which isn’t really the end of the world, but the banks won’t give you any Brownie Badges – that is for sure. The banks don’t really give you much credit these days (it seems) unless you’ve got at FICO score of over 700. Sure, they may give you a loan for a fairly high interest rate, but that doesn’t mean you are really a low risk lender in their eyes. It’s a shame that so many banks, and high interest lenders (loan sharks), take advantage of people who are elderly.

So this borrower lives in the Napperville area near Chicago, and from what we have researched on this lender, they are doing business in the areas of Evanston, Schaumburg, Oak lawn, Arlington Heights, Bolingbrook, and Downers Grove. I’m sure they will have no problem finding people to lend money to who are in desperate need of a small loan and their only form of income is Social Security benefits.

$1000 Loan Data from Chicago, Illinois (SSI Income)

• SSI Loan Applicant’s Age: 66
• SSI Loan Applicant’s Sex: Male
• SSI Loan Applicants Marital Status: Single
• Finalized Approval of Loan: $1000
• Effective APR: 32%
• Monthly Payment: $54.79
• Total Monies Paid To Lender: $1333.27
• Total Interest Paid: $333.27
• SSI Loan Term Length: 2 years
• Credit Rating Number (FICO Number): 660
• Loan Product Nomenclature: SSIL
• SSI Loan Applicant’s Area of Residence: Naperville
• Other Areas of Lender’s Service(s): , Evanston, Downers Grove, Schaumburg, Arlington Heights, Oak Lawn, Bolingbrook
• Main City Center of Application Origin: Chicago
• SSI Applicant’s State: Illinois
• Lender Classification: Social Security Income Loans
• Applicant’s Bank: Key Bank
• Borrower’s Zip Code: 60540

$2000 Loan in Bridgeport, NY for SSI Borrower

Bridgeport, NY SSI $2000 Loan

Our fourth and final loan for an SSI recipient takes place in Bridgeport New York and this borrower really needed to get a loan badly because she has some medical items she has to purchase. This lady is 75 years old and she is widowed. Her husband was also a Vietnam Veteran and he was disabled from the war. He had been living on government assistance his entire life until he passed away at the age of 82. He had a missing leg and some paralysis in his lower extremities to deal with his entire adult life, and she helped him throughout all those years while he was alive.

She wanted to get a loan for $2000 in total and she wanted to have it paid off within a year. Her FICO score was also low at only 610 and this would make it difficult to get approved for a reasonable rate. This lender ended up approving her loan at a 28% effective APR and they approved the one-year term with monthly payments at approximately $190. The total interest on this note came to just over $300 for the year, and the total monies to the lender just over $2300.

This borrower lives in Bridgeport New York, and this lender has their main offices in Syracuse, NY. They have been servicing the areas of Baldwinsville, North Syracuse, Matty Dale, and Brewerton (just to mention a few areas).

This is a pretty steep effective APR and one that we try to steer clear of if we can, but some borrowers are so desperate to get approved that they are willing to put up with almost any interest rate (and terms) if they can just get the cash in their hands. This particular loan was taken out in early 2011 – it was concluded and paid off completely one year later in January of 2012.

We are happy to report that she managed to get some form of medical assistance from the State and she was able to pay off her loan with this lender on time and got herself out of the financial mess she was in. She was very lucky, because she ended up moving in with her daughter who lives in Syracruse, in the Liverpool area along the banks of the Onondaga Lake. She has a beautiful basement suite to live in, and her daughter and son-in-law take care for her. She also enjoys spending time with her grandchildren.

$2000 Loan Approved for SSI Receipt – In Bridgeport New York

• SSI Loan Applicant’s Age: 75
• SSI Loan Applicant’s Sex: Female
• SSI Loan Applicants Marital Status: Widowed
• Finalized Approval of Loan: $2000
• Effective APR: 28%
• Monthly Payment: $189.31
• Total Monies Paid To Lender: $2303.28
• Total Interest Paid: $303.28
• SSI Loan Term Length: 1 year
• Credit Rating Number (FICO Number): 610
• Loan Product Nomenclature: SSIL
• SSI Loan Applicant’s Area of Residence: Bridgeport
• Other Areas of Lender’s Service(s): Fairmount, Baldwinsville, Fayetteville, North Syracuse, Lyncourt, Mattydale, Brewerton
• Main City Center of Application Origin: Syracuse
• SSI Applicant’s State: New York
• Lender Classification: Social Security Income Loans
• Applicant’s Bank: TD Bank
• Borrower’s Zip Code: 13030

Conclusion of Social Security Applicants and Lender Study

So in conclusion, all four of these people over the ages of 65 were approved for their loans that ranged between $1000 and $5000, and effective APR’s of 12% up into the 30% range. We only know the status of two of these people in that they paid off their loans in full, and on time.

Two of these loans are still ongoing because they were approved in the year of 2011 and some of these loans have five-year terms and two-year terms ongoing.

We don’t really do much follow-up with borrowers and focus mostly on follow-up with lenders to keep our eyes on them, so we can only hope that all of these people are doing okay, managing their monthly payments, keeping a roof over their heads, the heat and electricity on, and some food in their stomachs.

If you are somebody who is disabled, retired, or over the age of 65, and you qualify for SSI benefits then you may be able to get a loan from a private lender as well.

You can use the instructions below for filling out the pre-application form so that the lenders can see what your request for financing is, what the money is for, and the rest.

Make sure you use your actual valid e-mail so that if a lender wants to contact you they can. Please follow the instructions below and do not submit your phone numbers, street address, last name, etc.

You always need to protect your privacy online. We do our best to review every single pre-application that goes through this website, and we always remove any private information if somebody neglects to read the instructions before filling out the pre-application form for the loan.

This takes a lot of our resources when people don’t adhere to the privacy precautions we just mentioned, so please please please don’t enter your personal information. That kind of information is only used when you’re actually in dialogue with one of the lenders.

So farewell from New York, Pennsylvania, Florida, and the great state of Illinois. Good luck getting approved for a loan today!