State workers eligible for low-interest loans

With Pennsylvania’s legal budget deadline on Tuesday state employees have begun applying for low-interest loans, in case they miss paychecks during prolonged negotiations.

With Pennsylvania’s legal budget deadline on Tuesday state employees have begun applying for low-interest loans, in case they miss paychecks during prolonged negotiations.

Listen:
[audio: 090629sdloan.mp3]

The Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union is offering no-interest loans for commonwealth workers to tap into during a budget impasse. They won’t be paid until a deal is in place, but are required by law to keep showing up at work.Participating PSECU members will be able to withdraw up to a thousand dollars per paycheck period, from July 1st until a spending plan is signed into law.

Department of Community and Economic Development assistant counsel Matthew Speicher says he signed up for the program over the phone, calling it an “easy process.”

Speicher: Well, I wanted to be ready for the impending impasse. I think it might go on two to six weeks, so I wanted to be ready just in case we needed the money.

After the budget is signed into law, workers will have sixty days to repay the loan, otherwise the interest rate jumps from zero to 3.9 percent. Speicher says about half of the people he works with have signed up for the program.