Preparing to build a supplementary pension fund in Vietnam
On June 21, in Hanoi, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs coordinated with Malakoff Médéric Insurance Group (France) to organize a workshop on "Building a supplementary pension fund, proposals for Vietnam."
Deputy Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Pham Minh Huan said the Law on Social Insurance is the legal basis for implementing social insurance in Vietnam, creating conditions for workers in the formal and informal sectors to participate in social insurance and receive pensions.
Illustration photo. (Source: Internet)
However, there are still many limitations such as the social insurance system is still isolated; the life of retirees faces many difficulties with an average pension of 3 million VND/month not enough to ensure life; workers participating in large corporations have not yet received additional pension funds because Vietnam does not have such a fund...
The workshop listened to the opinions of French experts in policy making and the construction of a supplementary pension fund; contributed some opinions to the construction of the upcoming Law on Social Insurance (amended) and prepared by 2013 to form a number of pilot units to implement the supplementary pension fund.
Experts from Malakoff Médéric Insurance Group pointed out that the supplementary pension fund plays a role in improving the current pension level of employees, overcoming the isolation of the current social insurance system, thereby creating a close relationship between employees and enterprises, meeting the needs of enterprises; contributing to the development of the capital market, promoting the process of international economic integration.
The experience of most countries in the world when establishing a legal framework for supplementary pension funds follows a certain roadmap: pilot implementation, voluntary implementation for enterprises; mandatory implementation for enterprises...
Opinions at the workshop stated that the design and construction of a supplementary pension fund in Vietnam must be consistent with the financial capacity of enterprises and ensure harmony with other policies. The fund must be able to maintain sustainability over time, be able to adapt well to all events, and be able to withstand economic and demographic shocks.
The workshop also raised a number of issues when establishing a supplementary pension fund in Vietnam, such as determining who will participate in the supplementary pension fund; what is the role of the state in the supplementary pension fund; is it necessary to regulate the minimum and maximum contribution levels; is the purpose only for pensions or is it flexible for other purposes; what is the mechanism for managing contributions and benefits...
It is expected that the roadmap for building a supplementary pension fund in Vietnam will be implemented in 3 phases. Phase 1 (2012-2015): forming a legal framework, organizing a pilot program for a number of domestic and foreign corporations and enterprises; monitoring the operation process and implementing necessary improvements to complete the system. Phase 2 (2015-2020) will complete the legal framework and expand the subjects participating in contributing to the supplementary pension fund. Phase 3 (after 2020) will study the conversion of the supplementary pension fund model from voluntary to mandatory./.
According to VNA - NT
