During the discussions on the draft amended Law on Social Insurance on November 2nd, National Assembly Delegates evaluated the draft law's additional 5 groups obliged to join social insurance, including: (1) household business owners (registered); (2) non-professional practitioners in hamlets and neighborhood groups similar to those at the commune level; (3) enterprise managers, controllers, representatives of state-owned capital, representatives of capital in parent companies and subsidiaries, managers of cooperative unions not receiving salaries; (4) part-time workers (flexible work regime); (5) cases without a labor contract but indicating remunerated work, wages, management, administration, supervision consistent with the 2019 Labor Code.

The government anticipates that around 3 million people will have the opportunity to be included in this expansion.

Expanding Compulsory Social Insurance Coverage for Sustainable Social Security

The National Assembly Delegates Vuong Quoc Thang (Quang Nam), Sung A Lenh (Lao Cai), etc. highly appreciate the expansion of the mandatory participation in social insurance to achieve the goal of universal social insurance outlined in the Party's documents, especially Resolution No. 28-NQ/TW of the 7th Plenum of the 12th Central Party Committee on social insurance policy reform. At the same time, the delegates also note that this is not the sole "key" to achieving the goal of increasing social insurance participation as stipulated in Resolution 28-NQ/TW. It requires a coordinated implementation of multiple solutions.

Delegate Vuong Quoc Thang proposes clarifying the inclusion of non-professional practitioners in hamlets and neighborhood groups in the mandatory social insurance participants, simultaneously considering adding them to the beneficiaries eligible for health insurance contributions, similar to the provisions for non-professional practitioners at the commune level in the current Health Insurance Law.

Additionally, Delegate Thắng suggests studying the contribution levels suitable for the income capacities of each participant, as well as appropriate benefit regimes related to contribution levels and the budget balancing ability of localities for social insurance contributions according to the prescribed rates for labor employing units.

National Assembly Delegate Tran Thi Nhi Ha (Hanoi) reported, according to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the current participation in social insurance among labor-aged individuals stands at only over 38.7%. This means over 60% of working-age individuals, mainly farmers in informal areas and those with low incomes, are not part of social insurance.

Among the mandatory social insurance participants, there are currently about 5 million individual business households in Vietnam, of which 2 million are required to register for business. Hence, there are approximately 3 million unregistered business households not participating in social insurance, equivalent to at least 3 million working-age individuals not part of social insurance.

Participating in social insurance helps stabilize the lives of laborers in their old age

National Assembly Delegate Pham Phu Binh (Nghe An) also points out that for part-time workers in flexible arrangements, a group that is increasingly expanding—including singers, musicians, YouTubers, TikTokers, freelancers—they all earn substantial incomes and pay personal income taxes. The draft law needs stringent provisions to mandate this group's compulsory participation in social insurance. Currently, the draft law specifies that part-time workers with monthly earnings equal to or higher than the basis for social insurance contributions should pay at the minimum rate defined in point e, clause 1, Article 30. However, this group doesn't follow a salary regime but operates based on individual work agreements, making this provision less rigorous.

Comparing globally, National Assembly Delegates also assess that the draft amended Law on Social Insurance is generally compatible with the International Labour Organization's Convention 102 concerning social security across various aspects: coverage, entitlements, full scope of rights, conditions for entitlement, duration, procedures, and documentation for enjoying social insurance benefits.

However, National Assembly Delegate Tran Thi Hong An (Quang Ngai) points out that Convention 102 requires consideration for individuals unable to work due to illness, leading to interrupted income, to be entitled to sick pay. Yet, the draft law lacks specific provisions for cases of illness or accidents due to self-inflicted health damage that result in job cessation.

Delegate An also suggests considering adding child allowance benefits and enhancing benefit levels. Currently, child allowances are the only social insurance provision not yet implemented in Vietnam when compared with Convention 102. Introducing child allowance benefits could help ease immediate difficulties for laborers during childbirth and child-rearing, retaining them within the social insurance system instead of receiving one-time benefits. Simultaneously, this move holds significance for the social security agency by expanding the social insurance participant base, thereby increasing short-term and medium-term revenue into the social insurance fund./.