Voluntary social insurance - Social security support for freelance workers

Deputy Director of Hai Phong City Social Insurance Vu Duc Khien propagates voluntary social insurance policy to traders at Cat Hai special economic zone market (Photo provided by the facility)

Many people still... regret spending money

Mr. Nguyen Van Tuan in Thanh Dong ward (over 50 years old) is a freelancer. Sometimes he works as a construction worker, sometimes as a motorbike taxi service... The job is unstable, so his monthly income is also unstable. His wife is a garment worker, with an average salary of only about 6-7 million VND/month. The couple's income must be very frugal to be enough to raise their children and cover family expenses. Mr. Tuan said: "A few years ago, I also thought about buying voluntary social insurance so that when I get old and my health declines, I will have a pension. But after thinking about it, my income is not high, and every month I have to pay a sum of money for voluntary social insurance, which is a pity. So I just have to take it as it comes."

Sharing the same sentiment, Ms. Pham Thi Dao, 37 years old, in Tien Lang commune, works as a fruit seller at the market. Ms. Dao said that her daily work is getting more difficult because there are many people selling and more customers ordering online. Her monthly income from selling is only a few million VND, so she has never thought about spending money to participate in voluntary social insurance.

With the mentality of regretting the money, many freelance workers have not yet fully understood the benefits of participating in this policy. Recently, in the area managed by Kien An social insurance, Ms. Tran Thi Huyen Trang was the first freelance worker to receive maternity benefits after participating in voluntary social insurance. After only 3 days of submitting the application, Ms. Trang received 2 million VND in maternity benefits. Although the allowance is not large, it is of practical significance during the period when she takes care of her young child. For Ms. Trang, this joy is even more surprising because she previously thought that participating in voluntary social insurance was only to receive a pension when she retired.

Kien An Social Insurance staff guides Ms. Tran Huyen Trang in completing the application procedures to receive maternity benefits due to voluntary social insurance participation (Photo provided by the facility)

Practical support mechanisms

According to the provisions of the Law on Social Insurance 2024, the subjects participating in voluntary social insurance are divided into two groups. One is people aged 15 years or older who are not subject to compulsory social insurance and are not receiving pensions, social insurance benefits, or monthly allowances. The other is employees who are temporarily suspending the performance of labor contracts or work contracts, unless the two parties have an agreement on compulsory social insurance payment during this period.

Voluntary social insurance is a superior and humane insurance policy of the Party and the State, operating not for profit. When participating, people not only receive state support for the contribution level, but also enjoy many practical benefits such as: receiving one-time social insurance, retirement benefits when eligible; relatives receive death benefits when the insured person unfortunately passes away... Voluntary social insurance participants when receiving pension will also be issued a health insurance card.

To encourage employees to participate in voluntary social insurance, the Social Insurance Law 2024 (effective from July 1, 2025) expands the policy when voluntary social insurance participants will receive additional maternity benefits, at the rate of 2 million VND for each child born. In addition, social insurance participants in general are entitled to pension benefits when they reach the prescribed retirement age and have paid social insurance for 15 years or more. This is a practical policy, creating conditions for late social insurance participants, especially voluntary social insurance participants, to have the opportunity to receive pensions.

In Hai Phong city, in addition to the support level prescribed by the state, people in some target groups are also supported. Specifically, Hai Phong city (old) provides additional support: 30% of the voluntary social insurance contribution for voluntary social insurance participants belonging to poor households; 25% of the voluntary social insurance contribution for voluntary social insurance participants belonging to near-poor households; 10% of the voluntary social insurance contribution for voluntary social insurance participants belonging to other target groups.

In particular, voluntary social insurance participants living in the Cat Hai special economic zone are supported by the State with 50% of the monthly voluntary social insurance contribution according to the poverty line of rural areas, and the city provides additional support for voluntary social insurance participants in the city as above.

Hai Duong Province (old) provides additional support as follows: Additional support of 10% of social insurance contributions for voluntary social insurance participants from poor and near-poor households; Support of 30% of monthly voluntary social insurance contributions according to the poverty line of rural areas for members of security and order protection teams.

The social insurance agency is making efforts to advise the city to soon implement and apply a uniform support level.

Up to now, the rate of social insurance participants in Hai Phong city has reached about 55%, which is a high rate compared to the whole country. However, the city still has about 45% of people of working age who have not participated in social insurance, mainly freelance workers, who are subject to voluntary social insurance.

According to Mr. Vu Duc Khien, Deputy Director of Hai Phong City Social Insurance, to increase the number of people participating in voluntary social insurance, the social insurance agency is currently promoting propaganda and coordinating with political and social organizations to encourage people to participate in voluntary social insurance. In addition, the social insurance agency is also advising the City Party Committee, People's Council, and People's Committee to have solutions to support vulnerable people in society to participate in voluntary social insurance so that they can enjoy retirement benefits later...

NGOC THANH

Source: https://baohaiphong.vn/bao-hiem-xa-hoi-tu-nguyen-diem-tua-an-sinh-cho-lao-dong-tu-do-522157.html