Expanding pension benefits: Removing long-standing bottlenecks

One of the prominent new points, which has a profound impact on millions of workers, is the adjustment of the minimum social insurance contribution period to receive a pension from 20 years to 15 years.

However, along with "opening the door" to social security, the policy still ensures the principle of contribution - benefit, requiring participants to have a full view to choose in accordance with their long-term interests.

Increasing the number of people who are eligible for pension benefits

According to Vietnam Social Security, one of the important new points of the 2024 Law on Social Insurance is the adjustment of the minimum social insurance contribution period to receive a pension from 20 years to 15 years.

This regulation is designed on the basis of ensuring harmony between the goal of expanding coverage and the principle of contribution - benefit of social insurance policy.

For many years, the condition of having to pay social insurance for 20 years to receive a pension has become a barrier for many workers, especially those who participate late, informal sector workers or have interrupted social insurance contributions. Reality shows that many people, although they have had significant participation time, still do not meet the conditions to receive a pension, forced to choose to receive one-time social insurance, which means leaving the "social security net" when they are old.

Reducing the minimum contribution period to 15 years has directly removed this "bottleneck", helping to significantly increase the number of people who are able to qualify for pensions. This is a step in line with the reality of the Vietnamese labor market today with increasingly clear shifts and fluctuations.

Paying for 15 years - the benefit level may be low, but the value is not only in the pension

Some opinions are concerned that when the contribution period is reduced, the pension level will also decrease, thereby suggesting that social insurance participation is no longer really attractive. However, this view is only considered from the perspective of the monthly amount received, not fully reflecting the overall value of the policy.

The new regulation will be especially beneficial for middle-aged workers who start participating in social insurance late, freelancers, or those who have non-continuous participation time. Thanks to that, they still have the opportunity to accumulate enough conditions to receive pensions, instead of being "removed from the system" as before.

And in fact, people not only stop at receiving monthly periodic pensions, but also come with many important social security benefits. Pensioners are issued free health insurance cards throughout the benefit period, with a higher level of medical examination and treatment benefits than the group that self-contributes health insurance.

This is of particular importance in the context of rapidly occurring population aging. As age increases, healthcare needs increase, and medical costs become a heavy burden for many families. Being guaranteed health insurance not only helps reduce financial pressure but also creates mental peace of mind for the elderly.

In addition, pensioners are also guaranteed death benefits, including funeral allowances and death benefits for relatives. These are deeply humane policies, showing the sharing of the State and society with workers and their families, even when they have passed away.

Notably, pensions are not "fixed" income over time but are periodically adjusted by the State, based on consumer price index and economic growth. This mechanism helps ensure the real value of pensions, limit the impact of inflation, thereby maintaining a stable living standard for beneficiaries.

Thus, although the initial pension level may not be high if the contribution period is short, but overall, having a monthly pension accompanied by long-term social security guarantees is still a plan that brings sustainable benefits to workers in their old age.

Expanding opportunities but not changing the principle of "paying - enjoying

According to Vietnam Social Security, although creating more favorable conditions, it must be affirmed that social insurance policies are still consistent with the principle: contribution - benefit.

Accordingly, the higher the participants contribute, the longer the contribution period, the higher the pension received. This is the core principle, along with the protection and support from the State, creating the sustainability and fairness of the policy.

This shows that reducing the minimum time to 15 years does not mean encouraging short-term participation, but is expanding opportunities to access policies. Meanwhile, workers, if they have the conditions, should still participate in social insurance for a longer time to optimize their benefits.

It can be seen that the adjustment to reduce the minimum social insurance contribution period from 20 years to 15 years is an important reform step, clearly showing the innovative thinking in building social security policies in a flexible, inclusive and people-centered direction.

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