A semi-implicit stress update algorithm is developed for the elastic-viscoplastic behavior of glassy polymers. The case of near rate-insensitivity is addressed, and the stress update algorithm is designed to handle this case robustly. A consistent tangent stiffness matrix is derived based on a full linearization of the internal virtual work. The stress update algorithm and (a slightly modified) tangent stiffness matrix are implemented in a commercial finite element program. The stress update algorithm is tested on a large boundary value problem for illustrative purposes.