Paying voluntary insurance for 20 years will receive pension at age 55 - 60

People who participate in voluntary social insurance before January 1, 2021 and have paid for 20 years will receive a pension at the age of 60 for men and 55 for women.

Social insurance officials advise on voluntary social insurance policies for Quang Nam people, August 2023

Decree 159/2025 guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Social Insurance on voluntary social insurance takes effect from July 1. The document stipulates policies for people who start participating in voluntary social insurance before January 1, 2021, have paid for 20 years or more, and if they wish, they will receive a pension when they reach the age of 60 for men and 55 for women.

Thus, the retirement age of employees participating in voluntary social insurance before January 1, 2021 is lower than the general regulations. According to the amended Law on Social Insurance, employees who have paid insurance for 15 years and are old enough to retire are entitled to pension. When the law takes effect, the retirement age for men is 61 years and 3 months, for women is 56 years and 8 months, and will increase gradually until reaching 62 years old for men in 2028 and 60 years old for women in 2035.

The monthly pension for female workers participating in voluntary social insurance is equal to 45% of the average income used as the basis for contribution, corresponding to 15 years of participation. Each subsequent year is calculated by adding 2% until reaching the maximum level of 75%. For male workers, it is equal to 45% of the average income used as the basis for contribution, corresponding to 20 years of participation. Each subsequent year is calculated by adding 2% until reaching the maximum level of 75%.

The time for receiving pension of employees is calculated from the first day of the month following the month eligible for pension. The Government assigned the Ministry of Home Affairs to specify the details, but when the Decree takes effect, there is still no guiding circular.

Employees who are of retirement age but have not participated in voluntary social insurance for 15 years can make a one-time payment for the missing period to receive pension but not more than 5 years, instead of 10 years as before. This one-time payment is calculated by the total payment of the missing months, applying compound interest equal to the average monthly investment interest rate of the Social Insurance Fund of the year preceding the payment year announced by Vietnam Social Security.

Not eligible for pension benefits monthly

Voluntary social insurance participants who are of retirement age but have not paid enough years and are under the age of receiving social pension benefits are entitled to receive monthly benefits. The condition is that the person does not receive a lump sum social insurance benefit, does not reserve the payment period and has a request to receive benefits. The benefit period is based on the participation period and average income used as the basis for payment. In case there are odd days that are not enough months, they are rounded up to one month.

The subsidy level is calculated based on the social pension level, expected to be 500,000 VND per month, which will be increased when the Government adjusts the pension. The period of enjoyment is determined from the month the employee submits a written request when reaching retirement age until reaching the age of receiving social pension benefits at the time of settlement of the regime.

The state increases the level of support for contributions.

The State supports the payment of voluntary social insurance premiums for participants according to the rural poverty line. The support level is 50% for people from poor households living in island communes and special zones; 40% for people from near-poor households; 30% for ethnic minorities and 20% for other groups.

The State contribution rate has increased by 5-20% depending on the group compared to before. Participants in the group supported at many levels will receive the highest rate. The period of State support is not more than 10 years.

In the 2025-2030 period, it is expected that the state budget will allocate nearly VND 19,800 billion to support 5.8 million people participating in voluntary social insurance. Depending on the period, the Government will adjust the above rate and encourage localities to allocate additional funding to support participants.

Voluntary social insurance participants who withdraw their contributions at once will have to repay the money the State has paid, except for those who are entitled to receive a pension. These groups include social insurance participants who are old enough to receive a pension but have not paid for 15 years; people who have settled abroad; and workers who joined the system before July 1, 2025 and choose to withdraw their contributions at once.

The Decree stipulates that participants can increase or decrease the income level used as the basis for payment by submitting a declaration to adjust information to the Social Insurance agency. The change is made after the employee completes the payment method and the income level used as the basis for payment previously selected. People can choose to pay monthly, 3 months, 6 months or 12 months at a time.

The country currently has 815,000 poor households, 771,000 near-poor households, more than 14.1 million ethnic minorities, and nearly 546,000 people living in island communes and island districts. By the end of January 2025, the number of voluntary social insurance participants reached 2.3 million, accounting for about 4.9% of the working-age workforce.

HA (according to VnE)

Source: https://baohaiphongplus.vn/dong-bao-hiem-tu-nguyen-du-20-nam-duoc-huong-luong-huu-o-tuoi-55-60-415433.html