Vietnam Social Security: Ensuring participants' rights and interests, with a people-centered service approach

13/02/2026 02:30 PM


The New Year of the Horse 2026 arrives as the country passes a milestone of historical significance. 2025—the final year for implementing the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress and the 'finish line' of the 5-year Socio-Economic Development Plan for 2021-2025—has concluded with many important and comprehensive achievements, leaving a profound mark across almost all aspects of life.

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Under all circumstances, the ultimate goal of VSS is to fully and promptly settle the benefits of participants. Despite significant organizational restructuring, Vietnam Social Security has prepared 'early and from afar,' ensuring that the settlement and payment of benefits remain continuous and seamless. No 'bottlenecks' are allowed to arise, in a spirit of reform that provides maximum convenience for participants and beneficiaries.

In 2025, VSS processed 197,999 new beneficiaries of monthly pensions and SI allowances; 1,151,457 beneficiaries of one-time SI payments (a decrease of 24.43% compared to 2024); and 9,715,120 instances of sickness, maternity, and convalescence benefits. Additionally, VSS received and paid 770,720 decisions for unemployment benefits and 14,605 decisions for vocational training support. The number of medical examinations and treatments covered by HI reached 195.1 million visits, with total requested reimbursement costs amounting to approximately 166.4 trillion VND.

Particularly, during times of natural disasters, storms, floods, or epidemics, VSS proactively implemented flexible solutions: extending HI cards, making lump-sum pension payments, and streamlining medical treatment procedures for people in affected areas. These actions further enrich the 'humanistic essence' of social security policies—where every decision is human-centered, and the well-being of the people is the ultimate yardstick of success.

Administrative reform and digital transformation continued to be the highlights. In 2025, VSS processed 149.9 million dossiers, 91% of which were conducted via electronic transactions. Simultaneously, VSS reviewed and restructured professional software to align with the new organizational structure of agencies at the provincial and local levels. Furthermore, the development and implementation of data connections and sharing with ministries, sectors, and units under the Ministry of Finance continued to establish a vital foundation for modern governance.

Currently, VSS provides 70 comprehensive online public services, 100% of which are integrated into the National Public Service Portal. VSS has also collaborated with the Ministry of Public Security to synchronize data, allowing citizens to use electronic HI cards on the VssID and level 2 VNeID platforms, replacing paper cards for medical examinations and treatments. The cross-ministerial data integration has facilitated the reduction of numerous paper documents already available in the national database, enabling laborers to submit dossiers at any social insurance agency regardless of administrative boundaries.

Implementing the major policies of the Party and the State, and following the Government's Decree No. 29/2025/ND-CP, in 2025, VSS decisively and methodically restructured and consolidated its apparatus, completing a massive workload in streamlining focal points. The system was reduced from 1,465 units to 869 units—a 40.7% decrease. Despite this, VSS has ensured continuous, seamless, and effective operations, maintaining the principle of remaining 'close to the people' in serving citizens and enterprises.

The investment of insurance funds continues to be carried out under the principles of “safety – transparency – efficiency – sustainability”, contributing to ensuring long-term payment sources for participants while supporting the stability of the Government bond market and providing capital for socio-economic development. Fund sustainability is the sustainability of trust: ensuring that today, citizens can contribute with peace of mind, and tomorrow, they can receive benefits with confidence.

In summary, in 2025, VSS successfully achieved its 'dual goals': completing the restructuring of its apparatus into a lean, potent, and effective model, while simultaneously ensuring the robust implementation of social and health insurance policies—the pillars of national social security—amidst a landscape of numerous difficulties and challenges.

Entering 2026 with new confidence and aspirations

Entering 2026, the inaugural year for implementing the Socio-Economic Development Plan for the 2026–2030 period and the Resolution of the 14th National Party Congress, VSS has identified key priorities: continuing to perfect policies; expanding insurance coverage; accelerating administrative reform and digital transformation; strengthening policy communication; managing insurance funds safely and effectively; and building a lean apparatus with a contingent of officials possessing sufficient qualities and capacity to meet the task requirements in the new era.

The guiding spirit of VSS is solidarity, innovation, and creativity; having the courage to think, the courage to act, and the courage to take responsibility for the common good. This serves as a steadfast continuation of over three decades of building and developing SI, HI, and UI policies—the vital, humane, and people-centered pillars of the national social security system. On this journey, every reform, no matter how small, every dossier processed on time, and every payment delivered promptly to beneficiaries adds a strong thread, weaving a thicker and more resilient social safety net for the nation.

The New Year of the Horse 2026 opens with fresh confidence and momentum. Under the leadership of the Party and the State, the close guidance of the Ministry of Finance, and the companionship of the People, VSS is steadfast in its determination to excellently fulfill its missions. This contributes to building a sustainable and inclusive social security system—ensuring that amidst the ever-changing pace of life, no one is left behind./.

VSS