1.6 million elderly people can receive a pension of 500,000 VND from July 1

The Ministry of Justice is reviewing the draft Decree detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Social Insurance on social retirement benefits developed by the Ministry of Health, effective from July 1.

According to the draft, Vietnamese people aged 75 and over who do not receive a pension or monthly social insurance (SI) allowance, except for those who are receiving less than VND500,000 and have a written request, will be entitled to pension benefits. Compared to current regulations, the age for receiving social pension benefits has been reduced from 80 to 75, helping to bring 800,000 more people into the beneficiary category.

The conditions for receiving social pension benefits applicable to people from poor and near-poor households are from 70 to under 75 years old.

Elderly people in Hanoi exercise by Hoan Kiem Lake, March 2025. Photo: Hoang Giang

The Ministry of Health estimates that about 1.6 million elderly people will benefit from the policy, including 1.5 million people aged 75 to 80 without pensions and 100,000 people aged 70 to under 75 from poor and near-poor households. The proposed benefit level is VND500,000 per month. The total estimated cost of implementation is VND9,600 billion per year, with about VND4,800 billion in 2025 if implemented from July 1.

Regarding procedures, the person requesting pension benefits must send a written request to the Chairman of the People's Committee of the ward or special zone under the province or city where he/she resides. Within 7 working days from the date of receipt of the request, the Department of Culture and Social Affairs shall coordinate with the commune police to verify and standardize the applicant's information with the national population database and submit it to the commune chairman. Within 3 days from the date of receipt of the request, the commune chairman shall sign the decision on pension benefits and pay the regime according to regulations.

In case of ineligibility, the commune level must respond in writing and state the reason. If the beneficiary changes his/her place of residence, a document must be sent to the commune chairman to decide to stop payment and notify the new place to continue receiving.

When a beneficiary passes away, the organization or individual in charge of the funeral will receive funeral support of 10 million VND.

According to statistics from the national population database, the country has about 16.1 million elderly people, accounting for more than 16% of the population. The average life expectancy is 73.6 years, of which men are 71.1 and women are 76.4 years old. The rate of elderly people in poor households is about 3.6%; near-poor is 11.6%, higher than the national average.

Source: https://baohatinh.vn/16-trieu-nguoi-gia-co-the-nhan-tro-cap-huu-tri-500000-dong-tu-17-post286625.html