Illustrative image.
Ms. Ngo Hong was born in March 1979 and started contributing to voluntary social insurance in April 2025. Ms. Hong asks: What is the minimum number of years she must contribute to be eligible for a pension? At what age will she be eligible for a pension?
If Ms. Hong reaches retirement age but has not yet contributed to voluntary social insurance for the required number of years, can she pay the remaining amount in a lump sum to meet the eligibility requirements for a pension? How is her pension calculated in her case?
Regarding this matter, the Vietnam Social Security responded as follows:
Regarding the conditions for receiving a pension, Article 98 of the 2024 Social Insurance Law stipulates that those participating in voluntary social insurance are entitled to a pension upon reaching the retirement age as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 169 of the Labor Code and having contributed to social insurance for at least 15 years.
Clause 2, Article 169 of the 2019 Labor Code stipulates that, from January 1, 2021, the retirement age for employees working under normal conditions is 60 years and 3 months for male workers and 55 years and 4 months for female workers. Subsequently, the retirement age will increase by 3 months each year for male workers until reaching 62 years in 2028, and by 4 months each year for female workers until reaching 60 years in 2035.
Regarding the lump-sum payment for the remaining social insurance contribution period to qualify for a pension, Clause 1, Article 7 of Government Decree No. 159/2025/ND-CP dated June 25, 2025, detailing and guiding the implementation of some articles of the Law on Social Insurance on voluntary social insurance, stipulates that voluntary social insurance participants who have reached the retirement age as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 169 of the Labor Code but have a remaining social insurance contribution period of no more than 5 years (60 months) may make a lump-sum payment to complete 15 years of social insurance contributions to be eligible for a pension.
Monthly pension amount
Clause 1 of Article 99 of the 2024 Social Insurance Law stipulates that the monthly pension amount for eligible individuals as specified in Article 98 of this Law is calculated as follows:
"a) For female workers, the average income used as the basis for social insurance contributions as stipulated in Article 104 of this Law shall be 45% for 15 years of social insurance contributions, and then an additional 2% shall be added for each additional year of contribution, up to a maximum of 75%;
b) For male workers, the contribution rate is 45% of the average income used as the basis for social insurance contributions as stipulated in Article 104 of this Law, corresponding to 20 years of social insurance contributions. For each additional year of contribution, an extra 2% is added, up to a maximum of 75%.
For male workers with 15 to less than 20 years of social insurance contributions, the monthly pension will be 40% of the average income used as the basis for social insurance contributions as stipulated in Article 104 of this Law, corresponding to 15 years of contributions, and then an additional 1% will be added for each additional year of contributions.
Based on the above regulations, in the case of a female worker born in March 1979, she will reach the age of 60 in March 2039 (meeting the age requirement for receiving a pension). However, her continuous voluntary social insurance participation period from April 2025 to March 2039 is 14 years, which is insufficient to qualify for a pension. Therefore, in March 2039, the female worker can choose to make a lump-sum payment for the remaining social insurance contribution period to meet the eligibility requirements for a pension as stipulated in point e, clause 2, Article 36 of the 2024 Social Insurance Law.
For a male worker born in March 1979, he will be 62 years old in March 2041 to be eligible for retirement benefits. Accordingly, a worker who has continuously participated in voluntary social insurance from April 2025 to March 2040 will have completed 15 years of contributions and can stop paying social insurance until March 2041 when he meets the age requirement to receive retirement benefits. However, to receive a higher pension, the worker should continue participating in voluntary social insurance until he reaches 62 years old to be eligible for retirement benefits.
The Vietnam Social Insurance provides information on legal regulations regarding the aforementioned social insurance policy for employees' reference. For more detailed advice, employees can contact the nearest Social Insurance agency for clarification.
Source: https://vtv.vn/dong-bhxh-tu-nguyen-bao-lau-thi-duoc-huong-luong-huu-100251029152054624.htm
Comment (0)