Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung gave answers to questions

That is the comment of the Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung at the afternoon questioning session on November 11th, 2021. Specifically, Minister Dao Ngoc Dung said that by the end of 2020, the balance from the UI Fund is VND 90,600 billion. This is a proper and safe level. According to the Government's Decree, the normal balance to ensure safety is two times the expenditure of the preceding year, and in 2020, about a quarter of this balance has been spent.

Therefore, in the face of a complicated epidemic situation, people's lives and jobs of employees, especially when people and employers participating in UI have been facing difficulties, such a large balance in the UI fund would be inadequate. Therefore, after impact assessment and calculation, considering how this residual must be safe for at least the next 5 years, the Government finds it completely reasonable to propose to the competent authorities and report to the National Assembly Standing Committee for consideration. Afterwards, the National Assembly Standing Committee issued Resolution No. 03/2021/NQ-UBTVQH15 agreeing to let the Government use 38 trillion VND from the UI fund, of which 30,000 billion VND to support employees and 8,000 billion VND to support the reduction of contributions for employers.

“As a result, after this support package is disbursed, the balance from the UI fund is about 56,000 billion VND, which is two times the total expenditure in the past year, therefore, this amount of balance is reasonable."- Minister Dao Ngoc Dung commented.

After implementing the support policy, the UI fund's balance is still safe (Illustrative image)

In addition to the UI fund, in response to a question from a member of the National Assembly about whether the social insurance fund can be used to build houses for workers, Minister Dao Ngoc Dung affirmed: This is a long-term fund, salary, and the lives of millions of people. This fund cannot be used for other purposes. Their countries also do not allow it because this is an off-budget fund, the fund of the participants of social insurance according to the most important principle is that they have to pay for enjoyment; the more the payment, the more the enjoyment. According to that principle, it is not possible to get funds for other objects.

“If we want to invest in building houses for workers, we should use the budget or use other sources but not the social insurance fund as it is not in accordance with the principles and regulations. Currently, annually we have to pay salary for retirees with an amount of about more than 200,000 billion. Therefore, the social insurance fund must be preserved and sustainably developed, and we do not dare to propose this issue" - Minister Dao Ngoc Dung shared.