Nghe An people with the joy of receiving pension from voluntary social insurance

Humanitarian policy

Once the head of the women's association in her area, in May 2005, Ms. Phan Thi Ha (born in 1966) and her husband Mr. Nguyen Van Binh (born in 1963) in block 3, Quan Hanh town (Nghi Loc) participated in the Farmers' Social Insurance.

In 2009, when Nghe An Farmers' Social Insurance was converted toVoluntary social insuranceAccording to Decision 41/2009/QD-TTg, while many people who participated in Nghe An Farmers' Social Insurance did not continue to participate to receive one-time Social Insurance, after listening to advice from Nghi Loc District Social Insurance officers, Ms. Ha and her husband decided to continue participating in voluntary Social Insurance, with a contribution of 100,000 VND/month. By April 2022, reaching retirement age but not having participated in Social Insurance for 20 years, Ms. Phan Thi Ha decided to pay an additional 3.5 million VND for the remaining 35 months to be eligible for pension.

Since then, Ms. Phan Thi Ha has regularly received a pension of more than 917,000 VND/month. Although the amount is not large, it helps her cover her daily expenses. Ms. Ha said that she feels very lucky that she did not withdraw her Social Insurance at once, because that would be a great disadvantage for her.

Ms. Phan Thi Ha in Block 3, Quan Hanh Town (Nghi Loc) with pension receipt from voluntary social insurance participation. Photo: Minh Quan

“After retiring from the Women's Union, I have been a freelance trader for more than ten years. But thanks to participating in voluntary social insurance, people like me still receive a monthly pension to cover living expenses. In addition, I also receive health care with a free health insurance card, which gives me peace of mind when I am old and weak, I do not have to depend on or become a burden to my children and grandchildren,” Ms. Phan Thi Ha shared.

Also in Quan Hanh town, Mr. Pham Dinh Nhi (born in 1962), who used to be a mechanical worker, retired more than 20 years ago under Decision 176/HDBT. After that, Mr. Nhi participated in the Farmers' Social Insurance and continued to participate in the Voluntary Social Insurance. From November 2022, when he turned 60 years and 6 months old, he received a monthly pension and was granted a free Health Insurance card for life. According to Mr. Nhi, Voluntary Social Insurance is a humane policy of the Party and State that every citizen needs to understand, thereby having the opportunity to benefit from it, contributing to ensuring social security.

Receiving pension from March 2023, Ms. Tran Thi Chau in block 10, Truong Thi ward (Vinh city) said that she participated in voluntary social insurance since May 2010.

Working as a small trader, in 2021, when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, her income was unstable, and her family life faced many difficulties, Ms. Chau intended to withdraw her Social Insurance one time. However, after being clearly explained by the provincial Social Insurance officer about the benefits of receiving a monthly pension and the disadvantages of receiving a one-time Social Insurance, Ms. Chau reconsidered and decided to continue participating in voluntary Social Insurance to receive a pension.

“Last March, when I reached retirement age, I paid a one-time payment for the remaining years of participation to receive a pension. Up to now, I have received a pension of 1,853,000 VND/month. This amount is not much, but it helps me cover my living expenses, be financially independent, and even happier, I have a free health insurance card,” Ms. Chau shared.

In fact, while many people have participated in Social Insurance for many years but recently chose to withdraw it all at once, there are also many cases such as Ms. Phan Thi Ha, Mr. Pham Dinh Nhi, Ms. Tran Thi Chau... who chose to continue participating in voluntary Social Insurance to receive pensions, because they clearly understand that not having a stable source of income and facing many health problems when they get old will bring great worries to themselves and their families.

According to the report of Nghe An Provincial Social Insurance, as of March 2023, the number of people participating in voluntary social insurance in the province was 110,807 people.

Farmers' Association members of Anh Son district are informed about voluntary social insurance and health insurance policies. Photo: Thai Hien

In recent years, the Provincial Social Insurance has promoted the dissemination of information to target groups at the grassroots level to provide consultation and dialogue on social insurance and health insurance policies; coordinated with the People's Committees of districts and cities to organize consultation and dialogue conferences on social insurance and health insurance policies for farmers in communes, wards and towns; workers of enterprises and people in the province; publicized procedures, contribution levels, payment methods and benefits when participating in voluntary social insurance. Thanks to that, Nghe An is considered one of the localities that has done a good job of mobilizing people to participate in voluntary social insurance.

Overcoming difficulties

According to current regulations, people who have participated in Social Insurance for 20 years or more are eligible for retirement age and will be entitled to receive a monthly pension. In cases where they have not paid Social Insurance for 20 years, employees can pay voluntary Social Insurance for the full number of years, or pay one time for the remaining years (maximum 10 years) to receive a pension. Pensions are paid monthly, ensuring a stable life for people who have reached retirement age. The pension level is not fixed at the time of retirement, it is periodically adjusted to increase according to the consumer price index and economic growth to ensure the life of the beneficiary.

People of Truong Thi ward (Vinh city) are consulted about voluntary social insurance and health insurance. Photo: Dinh Tuyen

Since 1995, the State has adjusted pensions 22 times, the most recent being from the beginning of 2022, and it is expected that from July 1, 2023, it will continue to increase the adjustment for some groups of pensioners. Pensioners are also granted free health insurance cards, and enjoy lifelong medical examination, treatment and health care benefits. The health insurance fund pays at a rate of 95% (higher than the average benefit of family health insurance participants). In case the pensioner unfortunately passes away, relatives will receive a funeral allowance equal to 10 times the basic salary and relatives will also receive a one-time or monthly death benefit with many benefits.

According to the opinions of many people who have participated in voluntary social insurance, in reality, there are still some difficulties in the current voluntary social insurance work. That is, the time to participate in voluntary social insurance is currently too long (the full payment period is 20 years), it should be reduced to about 15 years. In response to this desire, officials of the social insurance sector, the post office and social insurance and health insurance service organizations also try to propagate to people about the roadmap to reduce social insurance contributions according to Resolution 28 that the authorities are discussing so that people can feel secure.

Another difficulty is that the subjects participating in voluntary social insurance are mostly freelancers and farmers with low and unstable incomes. Currently, most of the participants in voluntary social insurance choose to pay less than 1.5 million VND/month, so raising the poverty line from 700,000 VND to 1.5 million VND from 2022 has affected the continued participation and development of new voluntary social insurance subjects.

Therefore, to attract people to participate, the State needs to have policies to support additional contributions and reduce the payment period according to the draft that the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs is consulting on the revised Law on Social Insurance; at the same time, continue to promote more propaganda campaigns so that people understand correctly and fully the policies of voluntary social insurance and family health insurance, thereby actively and voluntarily participating with peace of mind, contributing to ensuring social security, while minimizing the situation of massive withdrawal of one-time social insurance as is currently happening in many provinces and cities./.