National Assembly deputies of Quang Tri province give comments on the draft Law on Social Insurance (amended)

Today, May 27th, continuing the 7th session, under the chairmanship of National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man , the National Assembly heard the report presented by the Chairwoman of the National Assembly's Social Affairs Committee, Nguyen Thuy Anh, on the explanation of the amendments and revisions to the draft Law on Social Insurance (amended), and spent the entire day discussing this draft law.

Representative Hoang Duc Thang speaking at the National Assembly on May 27 - Photo: TT

Speaking at the discussion session, Deputy Head of the Quang Tri Provincial National Assembly Delegation, Hoang Duc Thang, offered several opinions focusing on the following issues: eligibility criteria for social retirement benefits; maternity benefits; lump-sum social insurance payments; and the required social insurance contribution period for receiving monthly pensions.

Regarding regulations on eligibility and conditions for receiving social retirement benefits, delegate Hoang Duc Thang stated that lowering the age for receiving social retirement benefits for elderly people without monthly pensions or social insurance benefits is a new step forward, demonstrating the superior policies of the Party and the State.

However, delegates disagreed with the draft regulation: "Vietnamese citizens aged 70 to under 75 who belong to poor or near-poor households and reside in particularly difficult communes and villages are entitled to social retirement benefits."

Delegates argued that those belonging to poor and near-poor households are vulnerable groups. While still of working age, these individuals worked in sectors without formal employment relationships, mostly in rural areas. They do not have retirement benefits, and the poor and near-poor are often prone to illness and disease, regardless of their place of residence.

The provision that these individuals are eligible only if they reside in particularly disadvantaged communes and villages limits the superior social value of the law. Therefore, the representative proposed that the National Assembly consider removing the requirement of residing in particularly disadvantaged communes and villages to create conditions for poor and vulnerable groups to benefit from the policy.

Regarding the regulations on eligibility for maternity benefits in Clause 2, Article 52 of the draft, which stipulates that "The subjects specified in points b, c, and d of Clause 1 of this Article must have paid compulsory social insurance contributions for at least 6 months within the 12 consecutive months before giving birth or adopting a child, when using a surrogate mother or adopting a child under 6 months old," delegates reflected on the current situation where pregnant women have paid compulsory social insurance contributions through their employers. These women sign labor contracts but do not actually work for a salary; instead, they deduct money from their personal funds to pay compulsory social insurance contributions through their employers in order to fraudulently claim maternity benefits, as the amount they have to pay for 6 months is significantly lower than the amount they would receive as maternity benefits.

Therefore, the delegates proposed that the National Assembly amend the regulation on the social insurance contribution period from 6 months to 9 months to better reflect the correlation between contributions and benefits, and to minimize the exploitation of maternity benefits.

Regarding the regulations on the period of social insurance contributions to calculate monthly pension benefits, according to the delegate, the provision in point a, clause 1, Article 68 (conditions for receiving pension) of the draft stipulates that the retirement age as prescribed in clause 2, Article 169 of the Labor Code is: for men, it is 2 years higher than for women (62 years for men and 60 years for women).

Meanwhile, Clause 1 of Article 70 of this draft law stipulates that the social insurance contribution period for calculating monthly pension benefits for men is 5 years longer than for women (20 years for male workers, 15 years for female workers), which is unreasonable and does not ensure fairness for male workers.

Therefore, the delegates proposed reviewing and adjusting the timeframe to reduce the social insurance contribution period for men to 17 or 18 years in Clause 1, Article 70. They argued that such a regulation is appropriate and fair, and consistent with the retirement age regulations for male and female workers under the Labor Code.

The delegates also highly appreciated the efforts of the drafting agencies in incorporating, supplementing, and revising the draft law. The draft law, with 10 chapters and 142 articles, addresses many major and new issues concerning social insurance policies, state management of social affairs, and professional matters related to social insurance work. These are difficult and new issues that require time to fully assess their impact on the lives of millions of people and the country's social security policy.

Therefore, the delegates suggested that if there is sufficient basis, it should be passed, but if there are many differing opinions or many new suggestions for additions, more time is needed for analysis and evaluation, and it should not be rushed to be passed at this session.

Thanh Tuan

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/dbqh-tinh-quang-tri-gop-y-du-thao-luat-bao-hiem-xa-hoi-sua-doi-185831.htm