National Assembly delegates said that the regulation of pension benefits by numbers in the law is unreasonable, and should be calculated by base salary to keep up with inflation.
Giving his opinion on the draft revised Law on Social Insurance at the National Assembly on the morning of November 23, Vice President of the Dong Thap Province Lawyers Association Pham Van Hoa agreed with the Government's proposal to lower the age of receiving social pension benefits from the current 80 to 75. If the proposal is approved, people over 75 years old without a pension will receive monthly payments and free health insurance cards from the state budget.
The drafting committee calculated that if the monthly subsidy level is 360,000 VND as it is now (equal to the social assistance standard), the estimated budget for subsidy payment in the 2025-2030 period is 20,500 billion VND and 1,000 billion VND for free health insurance cards. If the subsidy level is increased to 500,000 VND, the state budget will increase to 30,000 billion VND. This subsidy level is regulated by the Government for each period, the State encourages localities to balance the budget and mobilize additional support resources.
"It is unreasonable to set the pension benefit level at a specific amount of money because if this revised law takes effect for 10 years, the benefit level will remain the same for the next 10 years," said Mr. Hoa, suggesting setting it at the base salary (currently 1.8 million VND) or being compensated for annual inflation.
People walking and exercising in Tao Dan Park, (District 1, Ho Chi Minh City). Photo: Quynh Tran
Sharing the same view, delegate Huynh Thi Phuc (Deputy Head of Ba Ria - Vung Tau Delegation) also said that social pension benefits should not be regulated by a specific amount of money, but should be calculated based on the inflation rate and many factors related to pensions at different times.
"The revised Social Insurance Law is intended to be applied for a long time, so the drafting and reviewing agencies need to consider adding regulations in a direction that people aged 75 and over can enjoy better policies," she said, agreeing with delegate Pham Van Hoa that the social pension allowance should be equal to the basic salary, with inflation compensation. This content is for the Government to determine, depending on the socio-economic conditions of each period.
Delegate Tran Khanh Thu (Vice President of the Thai Binh Provincial Youth Union) disagreed with the provision in Article 22 of the draft law on "the monthly social pension allowance level as prescribed by the Government in accordance with the socio-economic development conditions and the capacity of the state budget in each period". Ms. Thu said that it is necessary to specifically stipulate the monthly social pension allowance level compared to the minimum wage.
"The draft proposal for the Provincial People's Committee to submit to the People's Council at the same level to decide on additional support for social pension beneficiaries does not ensure the principle of unity and equality throughout the country," said Ms. Thu.
Delegate Tran Khanh Thu speaks on the morning of November 23. Photo: National Assembly Media
Vice President of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Association of the Elderly Truong Xuan Cu said that currently there are 16.1 million elderly people nationwide, but only 5.1 million people have pensions and benefits. When the Law on the Elderly was issued in 2009, there were 7 million elderly people nationwide, with GDP per capita of 1,200 USD. To date, the number of elderly people has more than doubled, and GDP has also increased. "Lowering the age of receiving social benefits to 75 is a breakthrough in social security policy," Mr. Cu assessed.
Explaining, Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung said that social pension benefits are the first layer in the multi-layered social insurance system according to Resolution 28 on reforming social insurance policies. This expenditure is guaranteed by the State budget for elderly workers who do not have pensions or monthly social insurance.
According to Mr. Dung, the Government has proposed to reduce the age of receiving social pension benefits from 80 to 75, and continue to gradually reduce it, approaching the retirement age. This adjustment depends on the socio-economic development situation and the State budget. The time and level of adjustment will be considered and decided by the National Assembly and the National Assembly Standing Committee.
"The Government will provide detailed regulations on financial support for social pensioners, maternity, women and children to make them more flexible. Before deciding according to its authority, the Government will report to the National Assembly Standing Committee and the National Assembly," said Minister Dung.
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