Consider the timing of passing the Social Insurance Law

image-on-top(1).jpg — Scene of the closing session of the 5th Conference of Full-time National Assembly Deputies (afternoon of March 27) discussing a number of contents submitted to the National Assembly at the 7th Session, including the draft Law on Social Insurance (amended). Source: quochoi.vn

Ms. Ma Thi Thuy (National Assembly Delegate of Tuyen Quang) proposed that the National Assembly consider and consider passing the Law after salary reform. According to Ms. Thuy, salary reform is a major, difficult and complicated policy, strongly affecting many different fields and labor groups throughout society. It takes time to implement salary reform to adjust and handle arising issues (if any) to suit reality, avoiding the situation where the Law has just been passed and then needs to be reviewed and amended. Therefore, Ms. Thuy proposed that the National Assembly not pass it at the 7th session, but consider passing it at the 8th session (October-November 2024).

Even the agency examining the above Law project, the Social Committee of the National Assembly, also said that from July 1, 2024, when implementing the reform of wage policy, a number of issues related to the draft Law will arise. While the Government submitted this Law project to the National Assembly, it has not yet fully anticipated the impact.

Accordingly, due to the abolition of the “basic salary”, there is no longer a basis for adjusting the salary that has paid social insurance (SI) to calculate pensions, no longer a basis for calculating some SI benefits and some benefits stipulated in other laws. In addition, the salary used as the basis for SI contributions of the group of subjects implementing the salary prescribed by the State will increase compared to the current level, leading to a significant increase in SI contributions. This will increase the portion of the State budget spent on these subjects.

The Social Committee also pointed out that the salary reform will create a large gap in pensions between those retiring before and after July 1, 2024, if no adjustments are made for those retiring before this date when implementing the salary policy reform. Accordingly, if retiring after the salary policy reform (July 1, 2024) from 4 to 6 years, the pension of those retiring after implementing the salary policy will increase by 40-50% compared to those retiring before implementing the new salary policy.

Regarding the above issue, answering the question of whether the time to pass the amended Social Insurance Law should be postponed after implementing the salary reform policy or not? Mr. Bui Sy Loi - former Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Social Affairs (now the Social Committee) said that to implement the new salary policy from July 1, according to the roadmap, all job positions must be completed by March 31. Therefore, if the salary reform issue is fully prepared, it can be reported to the National Assembly Standing Committee during the process of receiving and revising the draft Law. If it is not clear, it can be stopped. This is a normal issue, if the conditions are met, it will be passed, otherwise it will be left for the next session. "Currently, the draft Law only has a few points that are not agreed upon and need to be discussed further," said Mr. Loi.

According to Delegate Dang Bich Ngoc (Hoa Binh delegation), the current salary policy is not specific. Until now, we still do not know specifically what the salary will be? Therefore, calculating the basis for social insurance contributions is also very difficult when the basic salary is abolished, so there is no longer a basis for adjusting the salary that has paid social insurance to calculate pensions.

Meanwhile, according to Deputy Nguyen Thi Suu (Thua Thien Hue delegation), the draft Law has received the most attention recently from workers, especially vulnerable workers, who need a fulcrum to ensure the long-term life of themselves, their families and relatives. According to Ms. Suu, withdrawing social insurance at one time is a big and complicated issue, and it is necessary to continue to collect opinions on the two proposed options. In particular, it is necessary to collect opinions from workers who are the subjects affected by the Law. "Regardless of the option, it is based on the consistent viewpoint of the Party and State to best ensure the long-term interests of workers," Ms. Suu noted.

Mr. Nguyen Anh Tri - Member of the Social Committee of the National Assembly expressed his disagreement with both proposed options. "If I were a person paying insurance, I would not be satisfied either. This is a matter of concern, but both proposed options are not satisfactory. The Government, specifically the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, needs to consider further development" - Mr. Tri said and suggested finding a better option.

Meanwhile, Ms. Tran Thi Hoa Ry - Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly's Ethnic Council said that there are still many different opinions on the draft Law. The Government has not yet chosen an official one-time social insurance plan to ensure submission at the 7th session. Therefore, the time to pass the Law should be considered. If the quality and content are not guaranteed, we should wait until the next session to have time to assess the impact and review it more closely.

Source