Taking maternity leave is one of the most important — and often most financially pressured — times in a Filipino family's life. If you're currently on maternity leave and wondering whether now is the right time to refinance your home loan, you're not alone. Many homeowners on maternity leave are paying interest rates between 7% and 10% on their existing mortgage, when rates as low as 5.99% p.a. are available through Nook — potentially saving tens of thousands of pesos every year.
The good news is that refinancing during maternity leave is possible, though it does require some planning. Lenders in the Philippines assess your ability to repay a loan based on stable, documented income — and maternity leave introduces some nuances around how your income is verified and presented. This page answers the most common questions from Filipino homeowners in exactly your situation, so you can make an informed decision about whether to refinance now or wait until you return to work.
Yes, it is possible to refinance your home loan while on maternity leave in the Philippines, but the process requires careful preparation. Philippine banks and lenders evaluate refinance applications primarily on your demonstrated ability to repay — which means stable, documented income is key. While maternity leave temporarily reduces your take-home pay, many lenders will consider your full employment salary, your employer's confirmation of your return-to-work date, and your overall financial profile when assessing your application.
The outcome depends heavily on several factors: whether you are employed or self-employed, whether your partner or spouse can be added as a co-borrower, the size of your loan relative to your income, and your existing credit history. Nook works with multiple Philippine banks and can identify which lenders are most open to applicants currently on maternity leave — giving you the best chance of approval at the lowest available rate.
Some banks will approve a refinance application during maternity leave, while others prefer to wait until you have returned to active employment. It varies significantly by institution. Banks that use a monthly gross income basis for their debt-to-income calculations may use your pre-leave salary for assessment purposes, especially if your employer confirms your position is secure and your leave is temporary.
Key factors that improve your chances of approval during maternity leave include: a strong employment history with the same employer, a low loan-to-value (LTV) ratio on your property, a co-borrower with stable income, and a clean credit record with no missed payments. Banks like BPI, Security Bank, and BDO each have their own internal policies, and a broker like Nook can help you identify which lender is most suitable for your specific situation without requiring you to apply and be rejected multiple times.
The standard income documentation requirements for a home loan refinance in the Philippines apply during maternity leave, with a few additional documents that help lenders understand your employment status. You will typically need:
- Certificate of Employment (COE) — ideally stating your regular monthly salary, your position, and your expected return-to-work date
- Latest 3–6 months of payslips — showing your income prior to and during maternity leave
- ITR (Income Tax Return) for the most recent year — BIR Form 2316 stamped by your employer
- SSS Maternity Benefit records — showing your approved maternity leave benefit as supplementary income documentation
- Bank statements for the past 3–6 months showing regular income credits
If you are self-employed and on maternity leave, the documentation requirements differ. You may need audited financial statements and business registration documents. See our guide on self-employed home loan refinancing in the Philippines for more detail on that scenario.
No — maternity leave is a legally protected leave entitlement under the Philippines' 105-Day Expanded Maternity Leave Law (Republic Act 11210), and it does not constitute a gap in employment. You remain a regular employee of your company during this period, and most Philippine banks and lenders recognise this distinction.
However, it is important that your Certificate of Employment clearly states that you are on maternity leave rather than simply reflecting a reduced or absent salary without context. A well-prepared COE that confirms your regular salary, your maternity leave status, and your expected return date significantly strengthens your refinance application and removes ambiguity for the bank's credit assessment team.
Yes, and this is one of the most effective strategies for homeowners who want to refinance during maternity leave. Adding a co-borrower — typically a spouse or partner with a stable, documented income — allows the lender to combine both incomes for the purpose of calculating your debt-to-income ratio. This can significantly improve your chances of approval and may also help you qualify for a larger loan amount or a more competitive interest rate.
For the co-borrower application to be assessed, your spouse or partner will need to submit their own set of income documents: payslips, COE, ITR, and bank statements. If your spouse is an OFW (overseas Filipino worker), there are specific documentation requirements that apply — you can learn more on our OFW home loan refinance page.
The savings depend on your current interest rate, your outstanding loan balance, and your remaining loan term. As an example: if you have an outstanding home loan balance of 3,000,000 pesos at a current rate of 8.5% p.a. on a 20-year term, your monthly amortisation would be approximately 26,035 pesos. By refinancing to 5.99% p.a. through Nook, your monthly payment drops to approximately 21,491 pesos — a saving of around 4,544 pesos every month, or roughly 54,528 pesos per year.
Over a 5-year fixed period, that's a potential saving of over 272,000 pesos — money that could go directly into your growing family's needs. The best time to refinance is when rates are lower than what you're currently paying, and at 5.99% p.a., Nook's current best available rate is likely well below what most Filipino homeowners are paying today. Use Nook's free assessment to calculate your exact savings.
Not necessarily — and in some cases, waiting could cost you money. Interest rates move over time, and the rate available today may not be available in 2–4 months when you return to work. If you are confident your employment is secure and your documentation is in order, starting the refinance process during maternity leave can mean your new lower rate kicks in sooner.
That said, if your application is likely to be declined during maternity leave due to documentation gaps or income presentation issues, it is sometimes better to wait and apply when you are back at work with fresh payslips. Multiple declined applications can affect your credit profile. Nook's team can assess your specific situation and advise you on the optimal timing — and because Nook is 100% free to use, there's no cost to getting that expert opinion before you decide.
It's common for take-home pay to be lower during maternity leave, as SSS maternity benefits may not fully replace your regular salary — particularly for higher earners. When banks calculate your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio, they typically want your total monthly loan obligations to be no more than 30–40% of your gross monthly income.
If your current maternity benefit is below your regular salary, there are a few approaches that can help: presenting your Certificate of Employment showing your regular monthly salary, adding a co-borrower whose income strengthens the combined DTI, or timing your application to coincide with your return to work when fresh payslips are available. If you generally have a high DTI ratio even outside of maternity leave, our dedicated page on high debt-to-income ratio home loan refinancing covers additional strategies and lender options that may apply to your situation.
Bank policies on maternity leave borrowers are not always published publicly and can change based on internal credit guidelines. Generally speaking, banks that tend to take a more holistic view of a borrower's profile — looking at employment tenure, overall credit history, and asset value — rather than purely current take-home pay tend to be more accommodating. These have historically included BPI, Security Bank, and RCBC, though this is not a guarantee and policies vary by branch and credit cycle.
Government lender Pag-IBIG (HDMF) has its own set of guidelines and may treat maternity leave differently from private banks, so if your existing loan is with Pag-IBIG, it is worth understanding their specific refinancing rules. The most reliable approach is to work with a broker like Nook, who can match your profile to the most suitable lender without you having to approach each bank individually and risk multiple credit inquiries on your record.
Nook is the Philippines' first digital mortgage broker, and our service is completely free for borrowers — we are paid by the bank, not by you. Here's how we help homeowners on maternity leave navigate the refinancing process:
- Profile assessment: We review your income, documentation, and employment status to understand your options before you apply anywhere.
- Lender matching: We compare rates and policies across multiple Philippine banks to identify which lenders are most likely to approve your application given your maternity leave status.
- Document guidance: We advise you on exactly which documents to prepare and how to present your income information in the strongest possible way.
- Single application: Rather than approaching 5–10 banks individually, you submit your information once and we do the legwork — protecting your credit profile from multiple hard inquiries.
- End-to-end support: From your initial assessment to the release of your new loan, our team guides you through every step, including working around any maternity leave-related documentation requirements.
Getting started takes just a few minutes. Submit your details at nook.com.ph and one of our mortgage specialists will reach out to discuss your situation at a time that works for you and your family.