Many comments on the form of payment and pension recovery

In the latest draft Law on Social Insurance (amended and supplemented), Article 93 on the form of pension payment and social insurance regime is proposed as follows:

Through the beneficiary's account.

Directly from the social insurance agency or service organization authorized by the social insurance agency.

Through employers.

The Government shall specify Clause 1 of this Article.

According to the drafting agency, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the draft amendment stipulates that payments are made through the accounts of beneficiaries opened at commercial banks and foreign bank branches established and operating in Vietnam.

Contributing opinions on this content, the Ministry of Finance proposed to supplement regulations on the coordination responsibility of credit institutions in handling social insurance expenditures that are not in accordance with regulations.

Accordingly, the credit institution where the beneficiary opens an account is responsible for coordinating with the social insurance agency or service organization authorized by the social insurance agency to pay in verifying account information and handling social insurance and unemployment insurance amounts that are determined to be reimbursed according to the provisions of law remaining on the beneficiary's account.

The Ministry of Finance said that Clause 1, Article 93 of the 2024 Law on Social Insurance has stipulated the payment of social insurance benefits through the beneficiary's account.

However, current law does not have a coordination mechanism between social insurance agencies, service organizations authorized to pay and credit institutions in verifying and handling social insurance and unemployment insurance amounts that have been paid but are subject to reimbursement and still exist on the beneficiary's account.

According to the Ministry of Finance, in fact, many cases have arisen where beneficiaries have died, are no longer eligible to enjoy or have their rights terminated according to the provisions of law.

For amounts that must be refunded but are still on the beneficiary's account, verification and handling still face many difficulties due to the lack of a legal basis to stipulate the coordination responsibility of credit institutions.

The Ministry of Finance also believes that, in the context of promoting the payment of social insurance and unemployment insurance benefits through personal accounts and implementing the policy of non-cash payments, the addition of this regulation is necessary to create a legal basis for coordination activities between social insurance agencies, authorized payment service organizations and credit institutions in verifying and handling payments subject to reimbursement according to the provisions of law, contributing to ensuring the safety of the social insurance and unemployment insurance funds and improving the efficiency of fund management.

Regarding this comment, the Ministry of Home Affairs said it did not accept it. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the draft Law does not stipulate contents on coordination responsibilities between agencies; the implementation must ensure compliance with the provisions of foreign exchange law, the Law on Credit Institutions and other relevant legal regulations.

The delegation of National Assembly deputies of Quang Ninh province and the Department of Home Affairs of Lao Cai province also proposed to study and supplement regulations allowing social insurance agencies to deduct the amount of pensions and social insurance allowances that have been paid incorrectly in subsequent payment periods for beneficiaries; and at the same time supplement regulations on handling and recovering incorrectly paid amounts in cases where beneficiaries have died.

According to these units, in practice, cases of incorrect payment regimes arise, but recovery still faces difficulties and obstacles due to the lack of a complete legal mechanism.

However, the Ministry of Home Affairs said it did not accept this proposal. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the content allowing social insurance agencies to deduct the amount of pensions and social insurance allowances that have been paid incorrectly in subsequent payment periods and regulations on handling and recovering amounts that have been paid incorrectly in cases where beneficiaries have died related to the organizational mechanism for implementation and handling of recovery of payments that are not in accordance with regulations, not within the scope of amending and supplementing policies on voluntary social insurance of the draft Law.

The Ministry of Home Affairs also believes that assigning authority to the social insurance agency to deduct the amount being enjoyed will generate a mechanism that directly affects the property rights of beneficiaries.

For cases where the beneficiary has died, the recovery of the paid amounts is also related to determining the property obligations of the deceased, the scope of responsibility of the heir and the handling of inheritance according to the provisions of the 2015 Civil Code.

Therefore, this content needs to be fully studied, assessed for impact and reviewed to ensure consistency with relevant legal regulations before considering supplementing it to the Law.

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