Resolution No.28-NQ/TW: Reforming social insurance policies and expanding social insurance coverage in Vietnam.
31/03/2026 04:50 PM
Social insurance is a guarantee that replaces or partially compensates for the income of workers when they experience a reduction or loss of income due to illness, maternity, work accidents, occupational diseases, unemployment, retirement, or death, based on contributions to the social insurance fund. In Vietnam, over 31 years of development, the legal system and policies on social insurance have been gradually perfected, becoming more synchronized and more in line with the country's reality and international practices. Social insurance policies, which were initially only applicable to state officials and civil servants, have expanded to include all workers and are now universal, encompassing both mandatory and voluntary insurance for both the formal and informal sectors.
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Resolution No. 28-NQ/TW of the 12th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam on social insurance policy reform, issued on May 23rd 2018, outlines 11 reform contents and 5 main tasks and solutions, providing important and comprehensive directions for the development of social insurance from 2018 onwards. The reform contents mentioned in the Resolution aim to address existing limitations and create stronger resources for social insurance development, such as: expanding social insurance coverage, focusing on informal workers and workers with new forms of labor relations in the context of the 4.0 industrial revolution, promoting the development and improvement of policies, enhancing the effectiveness of state management of social insurance in conjunction with effective implementation, balancing the contribution-benefit principle, and gradually developing sustainable and stable social insurance in the long term.
The overall objectives of the Resolution are: To reform social insurance policies so that social insurance truly becomes a main pillar of the social security system, gradually and steadily expanding social insurance coverage, aiming for universal social insurance. To develop a flexible, diverse, multi-tiered, modern, and internationally integrated social insurance system based on the principles of contribution-benefit, fairness, equality, sharing, and sustainability. To enhance the capacity, effectiveness, and efficiency of state management and develop a streamlined, professional, modern, reliable, and transparent social insurance policy implementation system.
Specific targets are set for each period (2021, 2025, 2030), with the target for year 2030 is: Striving to achieve approximately 60% of the working-age labor force participating in social insurance, with farmers and informal sector workers participating in voluntary social insurance accounting for about 5% of the working-age labor force; approximately 45% of the working-age labor force participating in unemployment insurance; approximately 60% of people after retirement age receiving monthly pensions, social insurance benefits and social retirement allowances; and a social insurance participant satisfaction index of 90%.
After nearly 8 years of implementing Resolution No.28-NQ/TW, Viet Nam Social Security has achieved many significant accomplishments. By the end of 2025, the social insurance coverage rate reached 45.1% of the working-age labor force, an increase of 2.39% compared to 2024; of which compulsory social insurance accounted for 38.6%, and voluntary social insurance reached 6.5%. Unemployment insurance coverage reached 35.07%, reflecting a positive recovery signal of the labor market.
In Hanoi, the city with the largest population and workforce in the country, 2025 saw many outstanding achievements. The number of people participating in compulsory social insurance exceeded 2.3 million, accounting for 48% of the working-age labor force; voluntary social insurance reached 136,500 people, an increase of more than 30% compared to the previous year. With the target of expanding social insurance coverage in the area, Hanoi's local-level social insurance offices have implemented many comprehensive solutions: strengthening communication to the people and potential beneficiaries about the advantages and new aspects of compulsory and voluntary social insurance policies. At the same time, they have provided advice and answered people's questions satisfactorily, thereby helping them understand the state's social security policies.
In Lao Cai province, since 2018, the authorities has organized approximately 5,120 conferences to disseminate information on social insurance and health insurance policies, with over 450,000 participants; more than 1,900 training workshops at local level; numerous small-group awareness campaigns in villages, hamlets, residential clusters, and households; distributed over 2.2 million leaflets and brochures promoting the policies; published nearly 9,000 news articles and reports on social insurance and health insurance policies on the province's mass media... Notably, disseminating information on social insurance policies in ethnic minority languages through the local broadcasting system and workshops in villages and hamlets has contributed to bringing social insurance policies closer to people in remote areas.
As a result, Lao Cai province has seen an increase in the number of people participating in social insurance from 121,049 in 2018 to 210,597 in 2025. Especially, the percentage of farmers and informal sector workers participating in social insurance, compared to the total number of participants, increased from 4.90% in 2018 to 37.17% in 2025; this percentage also increased from 0.70% to 10.16% of the working-age labor force, gradually expanding social insurance coverage to the informal sector.
In Phu Tho province, despite facing many difficulties, the provincial Social Insurance Office has proactively developed appropriate operational scenarios to ensure smooth operation of social insurance schemes. By 2025, total revenue from social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance is expected to reach over 17.7 trillion VND; the number of people participating in compulsory social insurance is projected to increase by 8.3%, and voluntary social insurance by as much as 54% compared to the previous year.
In Quang Tri province, a locality heavily impacted by natural disasters, social security policies continue to play a crucial supporting role. The province has 323,577 people participating in social insurance, accounting for approximately 45% of the working-age labor force; voluntary social insurance participation reached over 60,642 people, many times higher than the assigned target.
The above figures show that social insurance policies are increasingly spreading widely in the community, gradually narrowing the social security gap for workers, contributing to ensuring and promoting socio-economic development and improving the quality of life for the people of Viet Nam.
VSS
Sickness
Work Injury and Occupational Disease
Survivor’s
Old-age
Maternity
Unemployment
Medical (Health Insurance)
Certificate of coverage
VSS - ISSA Guidelines on Social Security