People participating in voluntary social insurance are happy to receive retirement benefits.

The small house in Xuan Am hamlet, Hung Thinh commune, Hung Nguyen district resounded with laughter at the end of May. Mrs. Le Thi Quyen - the head of the household - happily welcomed the delegation of officials from the district Social Insurance to hand over the decision to enjoy the pension regime, after 20 years and 3 months of her voluntary participation in Social Insurance.

The joy of voluntary social insurance participants on the day they receive their "pension books". Photo: Phuoc Anh

Like many households in Xuan Am hamlet, her family lives mainly on agriculture and small business at the market, with a frugal income that is just enough to cover basic daily needs. In 2009, Ms. Quyen joined the Farmers' Social Insurance, then she switched to voluntary social insurance. At that time, some people who also participated in Farmers' Social Insurance like her quickly decided to receive the payment in one go, but Ms. Quyen did not.

She shared: “At that time, I only received a few hundred thousand dong at a time, which was not enough to spend on anything big. Meanwhile, I realized that there were many benefits from participating in social insurance. The annual payment was not high, completely suitable for the family's economic conditions. By making such contributions, when I was old enough, I would have a pension book and a health insurance card, and when life unfortunately had risks, I would have something to rely on.”

With the principle of contribution - benefit, the monthly pension that Ms. Le Thi Quyen receives is more than 700,000 VND. She said that although the amount of money is not much, the greatest thing that the pension book brings to her is confidence and peace of mind because "each child has their own life, although they all love and take good care of their mother, the more proactive I am, the more I can help my children."

Leaders of Hung Nguyen District Social Insurance awarded retirement benefits to people participating in voluntary social insurance. Photo: Phuoc Anh

Like Ms. Quyen, Mr. Chu Phuong Lam in Hamlet 5A, Hung My Commune is a case of paying voluntary social insurance for the full time and received a retirement decision from May 2018. Mr. Lam is a demobilized soldier. When he returned to his hometown, he enthusiastically participated in social work and is currently a cultural officer of Hung My Commune. Mr. Chu Phuong Lam's compulsory social insurance payment period was 16 years and 7 months. After that, he continuously paid voluntary social insurance for 20 years and now receives a monthly pension of more than 1,600,000 VND.

Mr. Chu Phuong Lam said that he thoroughly studied the social insurance and health insurance policies and realized that this is truly a superior, humane policy for the benefit of the people. “Paying voluntary social insurance, in the long run, will not only give you a pension book to ensure your basic daily expenses but also a health insurance card. In my opinion, it means paying one and getting two benefits,” Mr. Lam said.

Health insurance examination for people at Hung Lam Commune Health Station (Hung Nguyen District). Photo courtesy

In Hung My commune, more and more people are participating in voluntary social insurance. Ms. Pham Thi Luc - Hung My commune's collection agent said: Thanks to the effectiveness of propaganda work, the number of people participating in voluntary social insurance in the area is increasingly expanding. Many families with children working abroad, or doing business in the South or the North are also actively seeking information and paying voluntary social insurance. In general, people are increasingly aware of the benefits of voluntary social insurance.

Along with Ms. Le Thi Quyen and Mr. Chu Phuong Lam, this time, Hung Nguyen District Social Insurance awarded retirement benefits to 2 other cases in the town, Hung Phuc commune and Hung Long commune, bringing the total number of voluntary social insurance participants enjoying retirement benefits in the district to 156 cases.

The development of voluntary social insurance in Hung Nguyen district has achieved many positive results. In 2017, the number of people participating in voluntary social insurance was 1,000 people, an increase of 15.21% compared to the same period in 2016.Mr. Tran Duy Son - Director of Hung Nguyen District Social Insurance said: In the coming time, the industry will continue to coordinate, improve the effectiveness of propaganda work, exploit and expand the subjects participating in social insurance and health insurance; focus on perfecting collection agents; resolve the regime quickly, promptly, and in accordance with regulations to create trust for people about the benefits when participating in voluntary social insurance and family health insurance./.