Amending the Law on Social Insurance, increasing responsibility for protecting beneficiaries

Memorable "Experience" in the hot sun

Ms. P.T. M. T (Hanoi) shared that many people receiving pensions are old, weak, and have chronic diseases, unable to carry out procedures themselves, so they have to authorize relatives to receive them instead. However, every 12 months, families have to spend time and effort redoing the power of attorney even though circumstances do not change.

Ms. M.T. herself once struggled to bring her elderly mother, who was in poor health, to functional agencies to re-issue a letter of authorization to receive a pension. Her mother, Ms. P.T. V (born in 1939, residing in Quynh Mai collective housing area, Hanoi), is old, weak, had a spinal surgery, was slightly confused, and could not take care of herself, so she had to ask her children and grandchildren to look after her.

Previously, Ms. M.T. was authorized by her mother to receive pensions in cash, then through her personal account. When informed that she had to redo the power of attorney before July 1, 2026 to avoid delaying receiving pensions, the family registered to support procedures at home through the residential group but was not met as expected.

On June 4, 2026, the family had to ask neighbors to help take Ms. V. to the functional agency to complete procedures. "During the hot sun, the family had to borrow a wheelchair, ask 4 people to carry my mother down the narrow stairs, take her to a taxi to the Public Administration Service Center at 39 Le Thanh Nghi to make a power of attorney" - Ms. M.T. recounted.

Sharing the same situation, Mr. Dang Thanh Lam (character name has been changed) is currently authorized to receive pensions on behalf of his father because his father suffered a stroke. According to Mr. L., having to redo the power of attorney every 12 months causes inconvenience for families with relatives who are seriously ill or cannot travel on their own. Each time the power of attorney expires, the authorized person must spend time learning about procedures, preparing documents and arranging travel to complete the dossier.

My father had a stroke and had difficulty walking, so I received the pension instead. Every time the power of attorney expires, new procedures must be carried out. If the 12-month limit is removed, the family will save time and effort" - Mr. L. shared.

Proposal to remove the 12-month limit, reduce procedures, remove obstacles

The story of Mr. V.'s or Mr. L.'s family shows that periodic renewal of power of attorney causes many difficulties for the elderly, with weak health, causing families to spend time, effort and incur costs. According to Ms. M.T. and Mr. L., removing the 12-month limit will reduce the burden of procedures for the elderly, helping relatives proactively receive pensions and have more time to take care of patients.

Currently, Point d, Clause 2, Article 10 of the 2024 Law on Social Insurance stipulates that the power of attorney to receive pensions, social insurance allowances and other regimes is only valid for a maximum of 12 months from the date of establishment of the power of attorney; and must be certified according to the provisions of law on certification.

Understanding this inadequacy, the draft revised Law on Social Insurance (BHXH) proposes to amend Point d, Clause 2, Article 10 of the 2024 Law on Social Insurance in the direction of simplifying the authorization procedure. According to Option 1, participants and beneficiaries of social insurance benefits are authorized in writing to others to perform social insurance work in accordance with the provisions of civil law. Notably, the draft no longer specifically stipulates a maximum term of 12 months for authorization documents to receive pensions, social insurance allowances and other regimes.

Enhancing responsibility for resolving regimes

At the 2nd Session, the 16th National Assembly, the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Social Insurance (BHXH) was discussed with many proposals directly related to the rights of employees, pensioners and social insurance allowances.

According to the draft submitted by the Government to the National Assembly, the drafting agency proposes to abolish 25 articles of the 2024 Law on Social Insurance, and at the same time assigns the Government to regulate dossiers and procedures for participating and enjoying social insurance benefits. The replacement and reduction of dossier components will be based on the ability to exploit and use national databases and specialized databases.

The draft also proposes that social insurance books be issued in electronic form (participants are still issued paper books when requested, with equivalent legal value). Along with procedural reform, the draft adds compensation responsibilities when the social insurance agency or employer resolves benefits late compared to the prescribed time limit, causing damage to the legitimate rights and interests of beneficiaries (except in cases of fault of beneficiaries).

In addition to procedural reform, the draft revised Law on Social Insurance proposes to improve regulations on expanding the scope of compulsory social insurance participation for groups of workers with new working forms, but has not specifically determined the time of application. Contributing opinions on this content, National Assembly delegate Nguyen Ngoc Ha (Quang Tri Delegation) proposed to clarify the criteria for determining subjects, social insurance contribution responsibilities and implementation conditions to ensure feasibility.

Meanwhile, National Assembly deputy Ta Thi Yen (Dien Bien Delegation) agreed with simplifying dossiers and procedures but proposed not to transfer contents directly related to people's rights out of the Law. According to the deputy, the time limit for resolution, the time of incurring rights and responsibilities when resolution is delayed should be regulated at the necessary level: "It is possible to reduce paperwork but not to reduce legal assurance for social insurance beneficiaries." Delegate Ta Thi Yen also proposed to supplement transitional regulations for cases arising before the Law takes effect to avoid legal gaps.

National Assembly Deputy To Huy Vu (Hanoi Delegation) said that the contents establishing the rights, obligations and responsibilities of social insurance participants should be kept in the Law; pure regulations on dossiers, procedures, and processes can be assigned to the Government to regulate.

Delegate To Huy Vu cited the case that the regulations on changing the form or place of receiving pensions and allowances only stop at recording the wishes of beneficiaries, not clearly defining the right to change and the method of settlement. Regarding transitional regulations, the delegate proposed that dossiers submitted before March 1, 2027 continue to be settled according to dossiers and deadlines of the 2024 Social Insurance Law, except in cases where new regulations are more beneficial for participants and beneficiaries.

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