6 new policies on maternity benefits from July 1, 2025

1. Voluntary social insurance payment also entitles to maternity benefits

Maternity allowance is one of the new regimes added to the Law on Social Insurance (SI) 2024 from July 1, 2025. Accordingly, based on the new Law, when participating in voluntary insurance, participants can enjoy the following regimes:

Maternity benefits

Retirement mode

Death benefit

Before July 1, 2025: In Clause 2, Article 4 of the 2014 Law on Social Insurance, voluntary social insurance participants are only entitled to two regimes: retirement regime and death regime.

It can be seen that from July 1, 2025 - the time when the Social Insurance Law 2024 officially takes effect, voluntary social insurance participants such as freelancers, housewives, etc. will all enjoy maternity benefits.

2. If the husband voluntarily pays social insurance, the housewife is also entitled to maternity benefits.

According to the provisions of the Social Insurance Law No. 58/2014/QH13, voluntary social insurance participants are only entitled to 02 regimes: Retirement and Death. Therefore, although the State supports the contribution level, voluntary social insurance is still not attractive enough for people to choose to participate.

In order to increase the attractiveness of voluntary social insurance, the Social Insurance Law 2024, recently passed by the National Assembly on July 29, 2024, has added maternity benefits to the voluntary social insurance policy for all participants.

Husbands who voluntarily pay social insurance, housewife wives also receive maternity benefits. Illustration by AI: Hong Dao

Accordingly, Article 94 of Social Insurance Law No. 41/2024/QH15 stipulates that male employees whose wives give birth are also entitled to maternity benefits.

Thus, it is not mandatory for the wife to participate in social insurance. As long as the husband voluntarily participates in social insurance, the wife will also receive maternity benefits.

The maternity allowance is 2 million VND/child according to Article 95 of the Social Insurance Law 2024.

According to Article 94 of the Social Insurance Law 2024, the subjects and conditions for receiving maternity benefits are stipulated as follows:

Firstly, subjects who have paid voluntary social insurance or have paid both compulsory social insurance and voluntary social insurance for 6 months or more in the 12 months before giving birth are entitled to maternity allowance when falling into one of the following cases:

- Female workers giving birth.

- Male workers have wives and children.

* In case both husband and wife participate in social insurance: Only one of the two will receive maternity benefits.

* In case both are eligible for maternity benefits in voluntary social insurance and eligible for maternity benefits in compulsory social insurance: Only eligible for maternity benefits in compulsory social insurance.

Second, if the wife participates in social insurance and dies after giving birth: The father/direct caregiver is entitled to maternity benefits.

Third, the wife is eligible for maternity benefits in compulsory social insurance, the husband is eligible for maternity benefits in voluntary social insurance: The wife is eligible for maternity benefits in compulsory social insurance, the husband is eligible for maternity benefits in voluntary social insurance.

And fourth, the husband is eligible for maternity benefits in compulsory social insurance, the wife is eligible for maternity benefits in voluntary social insurance: The husband is eligible for maternity benefits in compulsory social insurance, the wife is eligible for maternity benefits in voluntary social insurance.

3. Male workers are allowed to take leave to stay home and take care of their wives and children for 60 days after their wives give birth.

Before July 1, 2025, according to item d, clause 2, article 34 of the Law on Social Insurance 2014, the maternity leave period prescribed in this clause is calculated within the first 30 days from the date the wife gives birth.

However, from July 1, 2025, maternity leave must be within 60 days from the date the wife gives birth. Accordingly, within 60 days from the date the wife gives birth, male employees participating in compulsory social insurance are entitled to maternity leave with the following duration:

- 5 working days when wife gives birth normally.

- 7 working days when wife gives birth by surgery or gives birth before 32 weeks of age.

- 10 working days when the wife gives birth to twins. Male employees will be given an additional 3 days off (ie 13 days) for each child from the third child onwards in case of triplets or more.

- 14 working days when the wife gives birth to twins by cesarean section. In case of giving birth to triplets or more by cesarean section, an additional 3 days off are given for each child, starting from the third child onwards.

In case an employee takes multiple leaves, the start date of the last leave must be within the first 60 days from the date the wife gives birth and the total time of maternity leave must not exceed the prescribed time.

Thus, from July 1, 2025, the law allows male employees to take leave to take care of their wives giving birth for the first 60 days from the date of birth instead of only taking leave for the first 30 days as before July 1, 2025, but the total time off cannot exceed the time specified in Clause 2, Article 53 of the 2024 Social Insurance Law.

Note: The husband can take more time off than the above but will not be entitled to maternity benefits by taking annual leave or unpaid leave.

4. All cases of abortion are entitled to maternity benefits.

Pursuant to Article 52 of the new Law on Social Insurance, the time off work to enjoy benefits in case of miscarriage, abortion, or stillbirth is regulated as follows:

- Maximum 10 days: Pregnancy under 5 weeks old.

- Maximum 20 days: Pregnancy from 5 weeks old to under 13 weeks old.

- Maximum 40 days: Pregnancy from 13 weeks old to under 22 weeks old.

- 120 days if the pregnancy is 22 weeks or older.

Thus, when employees use medical interventions to terminate the development of the fetus (simply understood as abortion), they will also enjoy maternity benefits, regardless of whether it is a pathological or unwanted abortion.

Before July 1, 2025, the Social Insurance agency will only resolve the regime for employees who have miscarriages, abortions, stillbirths or pathological abortions to be entitled to maternity benefits.

5. The child died early, the mother still took 6 months of maternity leave

According to Clause 2, Article 52 of the Social Insurance Law 2024

In case a female employee is 22 weeks pregnant or older and meets the conditions specified in Clause 2, Clause 3 or Clause 5, Article 50 of this Law and has a miscarriage, abortion, stillbirth, or stillbirth during labor, the female employee and her husband are entitled to maternity leave as in the case of a female employee giving birth.

Thus, if a female employee is 22 weeks pregnant or older and is eligible for maternity benefits but suffers a miscarriage, abortion, stillbirth, or fetal death during labor, the female employee and her husband are entitled to take maternity leave.

This means that the wife still gets to take the full 6 months off, the husband still gets to take care of his wife, and both husband and wife receive maternity benefits as usual.

Before July 1, 2025, according to Clause 3, Article 34 of the 2014 Law on Social Insurance, after giving birth, if a child under 2 months old dies, the mother is entitled to 4 months off work from the date of birth; if a child 2 months old or older dies, the mother is entitled to 2 months off work from the date of death, but the time off work to enjoy maternity benefits does not exceed 6 months.

In addition, also according to the new Law, Clause 4, Article 53, in case a female employee is pregnant with twins or more and at the time of birth, if the fetus dies in the uterus or during labor, the time off work to receive maternity benefits and one-time allowance upon childbirth is calculated based on the number of fetuses, including live children, dead children and stillborn fetuses.

6. One-time allowance upon childbirth is calculated using the reference level

Clause 4, Article 58 of the Law on Social Insurance 2024 on one-time allowance for giving birth, receiving a child through surrogacy or adopting a child under 6 months old, the one-time allowance for each child prescribed in Clauses 1, 2 and 3 of this Article is equal to 2 times the reference level in the month the female worker gives birth, receives a child through surrogacy or adopts a child.

Article 60 on recuperation and health recovery after maternity leave states that the benefit for one day of recuperation and health recovery after maternity leave is equal to 30% of the reference level.

According to Clause 13, Article 141 of the Law on Social Insurance, when the basic salary has not been abolished, the reference level prescribed in this Law is equal to the basic salary.

At the time the basic salary is abolished, the reference level shall not be lower than that basic salary.

Currently, the basic salary applied according to Decree 73/2024/ND-CP is 2.34 million VND/month.

Before July 1, 2025, one-time allowance and post-natal care benefits will be calculated based on the basic salary.

Source: https://baohatinh.vn/6-chinh-sach-moi-ve-che-do-thai-san-tu-ngay-172025-post290411.html