Workers come to handle procedures at the Vietnam Social Security branch in Quynh Luu district, Nghe An province. (Photo: VNA)Addressinga seminar in Hanoi on April 27, Le Hung Son, Deputy General Director ofthe Vietnam Social Security, said the 7th meeting of the 12th-tenureParty Central Committee issued Resolution No. 28-NQ/TW on reforming the socialinsurance policy so as to turn social insurance into a truly main pillar of thecountry’s social security system and gradually expand its coverage towardsuniversal social insurance coverage.
Accordingto the International Labour Organisation (ILO), this resolution features many progressiveregulations that approach the social security standards in internationalconventions and the ILO’s recommendations. Therefore, to institutionalise theParty and State’s viewpoints stated in the resolution, it is necessary to amendand supplement many relevant legal documents, including the Social InsuranceLaw, in a road map matching the country’s socio-economic conditions.
RobertJ. Palacios, a social security expert for East Asia and the Pacific at theWorld Bank, said amending the Social Insurance Law is highly important, notingthat Vietnam has the fastest population aging speed in Asia, and that is why socialinsurance coverage needs to be expanded and the law revised.
Vietnamshould increase measures for raising the rate of participants in the socialinsurance system, he noted.
ChristopheLemiere, Programme Leader for Human Development for Vietnam at the WB,attributed the modest participation in compulsory social insurance in thecountry partly to the long minimum time of insurance contribution needed toclaim pensions (20 years).
Vietnamis also the only country to allow workers to claim lump sums, which has boostedpressure on the social security system, he said, pointing out that the Statehas also had to provide income support for a large number of elder people nottaking part in the system.
Ifthe Social Insurance Law expands the groups subject to compulsory socialinsurance to all salary earners (the public sector, private companies, and businesshouseholds), the number of participants in social insurance will also grow.
TheGovernment should also limit the number of people claiming lump-sum paymentswhile covering 30 - 50 percent of voluntary insurance premiums for low-incomeearners. Only by doing so can Vietnam reach the target of 60 percent of itsworkforce participating in social insurance by 2030, Lemiere added./.
VNA
