'Voluntary social insurance is not attractive due to lack of short-term regime'

Voluntary social insurance currently only has pension and death benefits, and requires at least 20 years of contributions to be eligible, so it is difficult to attract workers to participate, according to the Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Social Insurance.

The opinion was expressed by Mr. Tran Dung Ha, Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Social Insurance, at a seminar on expanding social insurance coverage for informal workers on June 9.

Mr. Tran Dung Ha at the seminar. Photo: An Phuong

According to Mr. Ha, the development of voluntary social insurance in the city has encountered many difficulties in the past. In 2022, the number of people participating in compulsory social insurance, which is for the group with labor relations, was 2.6 million people, the number of people participating in voluntary social insurance was 61,000. In the first three months of the year, the number of people participating in compulsory social insurance decreased by 3.8%, this figure for the voluntary group was nearly 50%, meaning only 31,000 people participated in voluntary social insurance.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, the whole country has nearly 18 million informal workers, of which only 0.2% pay compulsory social insurance, 1.9% participate voluntarily, and the remaining 97.9% do not participate in any type of insurance.

The leaders of the HCM City Social Insurance Agency said that there are many reasons why freelance workers are not interested in participating in voluntary social insurance, including comparing the benefit policies with the mandatory group. While the mandatory group has short-term policies such as sickness, maternity, work accidents, and occupational diseases, voluntary participants do not have them. The lack of short-term policies has made the voluntary group feel that they have to wait a long time, at least 20 years of minimum contributions, to enjoy the fruits of their contributions.

At the discussion, Ms. Lam Tieu Oanh said that she used to work at a company, paid compulsory social insurance, and is now retired and does not participate in any type of insurance. Ms. Oanh compared that when she went to work, the insurance was taken care of by the company, the total contribution to the fund was 32% of her salary, but the employee only paid 10.5% and enjoyed up to 5 benefits. While participating in voluntary social insurance, the employee had to pay 22% and only enjoyed retirement and death benefits. "I really want to participate, but I still have many concerns," Ms. Oanh said.

HCM City Post Office staff, a unit cooperating with the Social Insurance Agency, encourages small traders to participate in voluntary social insurance. Photo: An Phuong

Ms. Pham Thi Ngoc Dieu, Head of the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Binh Tan District, said that the number of people participating in voluntary social insurance is still low, and is related to the minimum number of years of payment of 20 years to receive pension.

For salaried workers, social insurance contributions are deducted monthly, with contributions from the business owner, so 20-30 years of insurance participation is easier to achieve. On the contrary, for the self-employed group, with unstable income, they have to calculate many things to ensure their living needs, save for their family, and only participate in insurance if they have any surplus. "Paying money continuously for 20 years but not having any short-term benefits during that time will make workers lose interest," said Ms. Dieu.

The draft revised Law on Social Insurance proposes to reduce the minimum number of years of social insurance contributions to receive pension from 20 years to 15 years and add maternity benefits. According to Ms. Dieu, this is a solution to reduce waiting time, shorten participation time to attract informal workers to voluntary social insurance.

Mr. Pham Anh Thang, Chief Representative of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs in Ho Chi Minh City, said that to attract freelance workers to participate in voluntary social insurance, it is necessary to increase the benefit policy. The draft amendment to the Law on Social Insurance adds a maternity regime, the support level for each birth is two million VND. Workers do not have to pay any amount, the cost of this regime will be taken from the budget.

According to Mr. Tran Dung Ha, workers want voluntary social insurance to have more short-term benefits when facing risks, which is suitable for their immediate needs. Therefore, the policy needs to be adjusted, including many participation options with contribution levels suitable for work and income for workers to choose.

Le Tuyet

Source link: https://vnexpress.net/bhxh-tu-nguyen-chua-hap-dan-vi-thieu-che-do-ngan-han-4615694.html