Many regulations on social insurance are still 'hot' before the approval button is pressed.

On May 27, continuing the 7th session, the National Assembly discussed the revised Law on Social Insurance. The draft law is expected to be approved by the National Assembly at the end of the session.

It is unclear how to implement the "reference level"

Reporting on the acceptance and revision of the draft law, Chairwoman of the National Assembly’s Committee on Social Affairs Nguyen Thuy Anh said that according to the roadmap for implementing salary policy reform, from July 1, the basic salary used as the basis for calculating pensions and some social insurance regimes will be abolished. This content was not fully anticipated when the Government submitted it to the National Assembly at the 6th session at the end of 2023.

Social Insurance Law has a great impact on workers' lives.

Nhat Thinh

During the process of receiving and adjusting, after many requests, on May 15, the Government proposed to replace the "basic salary" with the "reference level" stipulated in the draft law. Accordingly, the reference level for calculating social insurance is calculated at 1.8 million VND from July 1, 2024, replacing the basic salary for implementing social insurance. However, according to the Chairman of the National Assembly's Social Affairs Committee, by May 25, the Government had a report proposing a new plan on the reference level to replace the basic salary to ensure correlation with the expected salary reform plan that the Steering Committee had agreed to report to the competent authority. Specifically, the Government proposed to stipulate that the reference level is the amount of money used to calculate the contribution level and the level of enjoyment of some social insurance regimes in this law. The reference level is calculated by the basic salary. When the basic salary is abolished, the reference level will be adjusted by the Government based on the increase in the consumer price index and economic growth, in accordance with the capacity of the state budget and the Social Insurance Fund. In the subsequent discussion, many National Assembly deputies said that the regulation on the reference level instead of the basic salary used to calculate the social insurance contribution and benefit levels is not clear how it was developed and implemented; at the same time, its impact has not been carefully and thoroughly assessed. Specialized member of the National Assembly's Economic Committee Bui Thi Quynh Tho (Ha Tinh delegation) said that the social insurance contribution and benefit levels need a fixed salary as the basis for calculation. When the Government stipulates that the reference level is adjusted based on the increase in the consumer price index, economic growth will be difficult to apply as well as to estimate the medium-term social insurance plan. In addition, the Government has not yet reported to clarify the principles for determining the reference level as well as how the reference level will be developed. "The salary used as the basis for paying insurance premiums and calculating social insurance benefits is an important issue that participants are concerned about first. Once the calculation basis has not been implemented, will the social insurance regulations be feasible?", Ms. Tho stated and suggested that the National Assembly consider passing the amended Social Insurance Law before the state approves the new salary table according to the salary reform roadmap from July 1. Deputy Tran Khanh Thu (Thai Binh delegation) analyzed that when the basic salary is abolished, there will no longer be a basis for calculating pensions as well as other social insurance regimes. At the same time, the salary used as the basis for paying social insurance premiums for the group of subjects implementing state-regulated salaries will increase compared to the current level, increasing state budget costs. Not to mention, when implementing the new salary regime, there will also be a large difference in pensions between those retiring before and after July 1 if there is no adjustment before the salary reform period. According to Ms. Thu, the Government proposed to stipulate a "reference level" to replace the abolished basic salary when reforming wages, but the impact of this policy has not been fully assessed. "I propose to consider passing this bill at the 8th session (late 2024) to have more time to assess the actual impact of wage reform on social insurance policies as well as related bills," Ms. Thu suggested. Explaining at the end of the discussion session, Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung said that the nature of the "reference level" is a new concept to replace the abolished basic salary and is calculated on the basis of the consumer price index (CPI) and practice. "If the basic salary is not abolished immediately in the coming time, the current basic salary will continue to be 1.8 million VND. No matter how much the salary reform increases in the future, it will still be the basic salary and the reference level. Applying the reference level will be longer-term than when the basic salary is abolished," Mr. Dung said.

Propose additional options for one-time withdrawal of social insurance

Another issue that has received attention from National Assembly deputies is the option of withdrawing social insurance at one time in the draft law. Although the draft law is about to be approved, this is still a content that the deputies have not been able to reach a consensus on. Chairwoman of the National Assembly's Social Affairs Committee Nguyen Thuy Anh said that the Government has submitted two options: one is to only allow those who participated in social insurance before the effective date of the law (expected July 1, 2025) to withdraw social insurance at one time, those who participated after this date are not allowed to withdraw anymore; two is that employees are allowed to withdraw social insurance at one time but not more than 50% of the total time contributed to the pension and death fund. The remaining social insurance payment time is reserved for employees to continue participating and enjoying social insurance regimes. Both of the above options are not optimal, do not completely resolve the situation of withdrawing social insurance at one time, and are not expected to prevent collective reactions of employees. However, option one is receiving approval from the majority of opinions in the Standing Committee of the National Assembly and the majority of workers in some localities where opinions were consulted. Giving opinions on the draft law, the deputies continued to divide into three streams of opinion. One side supports option one, aiming to properly implement the principles of social insurance and ensure old-age security for workers, limiting complications. One side supports option two, because it helps workers have a source of money to solve immediate difficulties, keeping them in the social insurance system. The remaining stream of opinions suggests adding a new option. Deputy Nguyen Thi Hong Hanh (HCMC delegation) proposed that the social insurance coordinate with the policy bank to lend workers interest-free or low-interest loans and the maximum loan amount is equal to the amount of money received if withdrawing social insurance at one time. The social insurance book is a guarantee for the loan, at the same time the loan procedure must be very simple, without the need to prove assets and income. If workers still do not agree, they should be allowed to withdraw social insurance at one time. Meanwhile, Deputy Tran Thi Hoa Ry (Bac Lieu delegation) supported option two but said that it needs to be further improved in the direction of reducing the withdrawal period from 12 months to 3-6 months. At the same time, if employees want to withdraw their social insurance at one time, it will be resolved but not more than 50% for the part they directly paid (equivalent to 8%). The remaining 14% paid by the employer will be retained to ensure the pension fund for employees. They will only receive it when they meet the conditions for pension benefits. This regulation ensures the principle of "contributing, receiving", avoiding creating a mentality that employees want to withdraw their social insurance at one time to receive more money from the 14% that they did not pay.

Originating from the needs of workers. Regarding the reason why the bill must design a regulation on one-time withdrawal of social insurance even though it is not in the laws of other countries, especially developed countries, according to Minister Dao Ngoc Dung, it originates from the needs of workers. According to Mr. Dung, the Government has proposed two options for one-time withdrawal of social insurance, and has consulted international organizations and held research seminars to discuss solutions. After consideration, experts assessed that if the two options were combined, it would only add up to disadvantages instead of advantages. The Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs also informed that the drafting agency had widely consulted workers. The reports of the five localities with the highest withdrawal rates in the Southeast showed that the vast majority of opinions chose option one, very few people chose option two. "Therefore, the Government proposed to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly and the National Assembly to allow the choice of one of the two options presented," said Mr. Dung.

Thanhnien.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nhieu-quy-dinh-ve-bhxh-van-nong-truoc-gio-bam-nut-thong-qua-185240527235831558.htm