Hard work to make a living
68-year-old Nguyen Thi Hang in Hai An ward still wakes up at 4am every day to cook sticky rice to sell at the market. Every day, she earns about 120,000 - 150,000 VND, enough to spend frugally and buy medicine. "I worked as a garment worker for more than 20 years, but I quit when I was not old enough and did not participate in social insurance. Now I am old, I have no pension, I can only rely on myself," Ms. Hang shared.
Every morning at 7am, Mr. Tran Van Hoa, 69 years old, in Hai Duong ward, rides his old bicycle, carrying a box of shoe shine tools to all the coffee shops and pho shops in the area to make a living. He said that he has 2 children who both have their own families but are poor, so he lives alone because he does not want to be a burden to his children. When he was healthy, he did whatever people hired him to do, from construction worker to loading goods for hire.
In recent years, due to his old age and poor health, he has turned to shoe shining to earn extra income to cover his living expenses. Last July, when he turned 75, he received a monthly allowance of 500,000 VND, plus about 2 million VND/month from shoe shining. “That amount of money is barely enough to cover monthly expenses. Without a pension, without savings, every month I have to see a doctor or buy medicine, I have no money to eat,” Mr. Hoa said.
According to statistics, Hai Phong currently has more than 700,000 elderly people, accounting for about 18% of the total population. However, the number of elderly people with pensions, monthly social insurance benefits or social benefits is still low.
Ensuring security for old age
In fact, the low number of people with pensions, social insurance, and health insurance increases the burden on the social security system. Therefore, the Government aims to have about 60% of people over the age of retirement pension, social insurance benefits, and monthly social benefits by 2030.
To help workers enjoy retirement benefits when they retire, the State has recently supported a portion of social insurance contributions for workers participating in voluntary social insurance. Meanwhile, the Social Insurance Law 2024 (effective from July 1, 2025) expands the policy when voluntary social insurance participants are entitled to additional maternity benefits, at VND 2 million for each child born. In addition, social insurance participants in general are entitled to pension benefits when they reach the prescribed retirement age and have paid social insurance for at least 15 years.
In Hai Phong city, in addition to the support level prescribed by the State, people in some groups of cases are also supported with additional support. Specifically, the city supports an additional 30% of the contribution for voluntary social insurance participants belonging to poor households; 25% of the contribution for voluntary social insurance participants belonging to near-poor households; and 10% of the contribution for voluntary social insurance participants belonging to other groups.
Voluntary social insurance participants living in the Cat Hai and Bach Long Vi special economic zones are supported by the State with 50% of the monthly voluntary social insurance contribution according to the poverty line of rural areas, and the city supports additional contributions for voluntary social insurance participants in the area...
"I used to be a worker. After quitting my job, I didn't have enough time to receive my pension, so in 2020, I decided to continue participating in voluntary social insurance. In August 2024, I completed 20 years of contributions and started receiving my pension from September 2024 at more than 2 million VND/month. The amount is not large, but it is a support that helps me feel secure when I retire," said Ms. Vu Thi Vui, Gia Phuc commune.
According to Mr. Pham Quang San, Vice President of the City Elderly Association, currently, many elderly people do not have pensions but still have children to support them. However, there are many people who, partly because they do not want to be a burden to their children, partly because their children are also in difficult circumstances, have to work to earn a living. Also according to Mr. San, in order for the elderly to ensure their lives, have conditions for health care and medical examination and treatment, along with the support policies of the state and the cooperation of the entire political system, each worker needs to be responsible for themselves from the time they are still healthy, that is, to work, save, and participate in voluntary social insurance...
“Population aging is an inevitable trend, but sustainable aging can only be achieved when people have a stable social security foundation. Therefore, preparing for old age is not only the responsibility of the State, but also the awareness of every worker from the time they are still healthy. Because old age security cannot start when we retire,” said Mr. San.
HA VYSource: https://baohaiphong.vn/hai-phong-bao-dam-an-sinh-cho-nguoi-cao-tuoi-525172.html
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