Propagating voluntary social insurance policy to freelance workers

One of the breakthroughs of this Law is to reduce the minimum period to receive pension from 20 years to 15 years. This change not only shortens the accumulation period for old age, but also creates opportunities for those who have participated in social insurance but stopped halfway or joined late.

The story of Mr. Huynh Viet Quoc (An Cuu Ward, Hue City) is a typical example. After more than 14 years of working as a worker at a textile company in Phu Bai Industrial Park, Mr. Quoc quit his job to start a business. With 14 years and 4 months of social insurance contributions, he had almost no chance of receiving a pension. However, with the new policy, if he only participates in voluntary social insurance for a few more months, Mr. Quoc will be eligible to receive a pension when he reaches the age. "I used to plan to withdraw my social insurance at once, but after being advised on the new policy, I changed my mind. Having a monthly pension is still safer and more stable for the future," Mr. Quoc shared.

Not only creating more favorable conditions for pension benefits, the Social Insurance Law 2024 also adds maternity benefits for voluntary social insurance participants - which previously only applied to workers in the formal sector. According to the new regulations, voluntary social insurance participants who have paid for 6 months in the 12 months before giving birth will receive a maternity benefit of 2 million VND per child, paid by the state budget.

For those who reach retirement age but are not eligible for pension or social benefits, if they do not withdraw their social insurance at one time, they will receive a monthly allowance based on the number of years they have paid social insurance. Although the monthly allowance is not high, the recipient is also given a free health insurance card, contributing to protecting the elderly in vulnerable groups.

Mr. Nguyen Viet Dung, Director of Social Insurance Region XX affirmed: “The Social Insurance Law 2024 clearly demonstrates the Party and State’s policy of expanding social security policies to all subjects, especially the informal labor group. Reducing eligibility conditions, expanding benefits, increasing financial support - all aim to encourage people to proactively participate”.

Another positive point is that the level of support for voluntary social insurance contributions from the state budget continues to be maintained. Specifically, poor households are supported 30%, near-poor households 25%, and other groups 10%. This is a significant financial incentive in the context of unstable income for freelance workers.

According to statistics from the Social Insurance Agency of Region XX, as of June 2025, Hue City had more than 23,700 people participating in voluntary social insurance, reaching nearly 58% of the plan set by the Vietnam Social Insurance. This figure shows that people's awareness is gradually changing, especially when communication work is enhanced through many forms such as conferences, small group communication, policy dialogue, etc.

According to Mr. Dung, in order to continue attracting freelance workers to participate in voluntary social insurance, in the coming time, the unit will promote the dissemination of new points of the Social Insurance Law 2024, contributing effectively to ensuring long-term and sustainable social security benefits for people. In particular, focusing on direct communication forms such as organizing conferences, policy consultations, direct dialogues and competitions... Channels such as: One-stop Department, Hue City Employment Service Center, Electronic Information Portal and social networks are also effectively utilized.

With the breakthrough changes of the Social Insurance Law 2024 and communication efforts, voluntary social insurance promises to become a sustainable social security tool, bringing future stability to freelance workers.

Article and photos: Khanh Thu

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/chinh-tri-xa-hoi/an-sinh-xa-hoi/mo-rong-co-hoi-an-sinh-tu-chinh-sach-bao-hiem-xa-hoi-tu-nguyen-155321.html