(Source: Viet Nam Social Security)

The Vietnam Social Security (VSS) on February 6 held a monthly regular conference to provide updates on the social security and health insurance policies. The event was chaired by VSS Deputy Director General Pham Luong Son.

New social security, health insurance policies

At the conference, Deputy Director General Pham Luong Son said many new social security and health insurance policies will begin to take effect in 2018, expanding benefits for holders and strengthening the enforcement of the social, health insurance-related regulations.

Accordingly, from January 1, the compulsory social insurance extends its coverage to those working under labour contracts with a definite term of one month to less than three months and foreigners working in Vietnam under work permits, practice certificates or licences issued by competent Vietnamese authorities.

The 2014 Law on Social Insurance was revised to include allowances and other payments, besides monthly salary, into earnings for calculation of social insurance contributions. There are also changes in the way to calculate a worker’ retirement benefits towards a better balance between premiums and benefits.

At the same time, the state budget also started to support social security premium payment for volunteer holders, such as paying 30 percent of social insurance premiums for holders from poor households, 25 percent of those from near-poor households, and 10 percent for others.

Paid social security contributions will be recalculated with the consumer price index (CPI) taken into account, applicable to both volunteer and compulsory holders. As the Penal Code took effect on January 1, 2018, violations related to social insurance and health insurance face criminal charges. Those include Article 214 (social insurance and unemployment insurance frauds), Article 215 (health insurance fraud) and Article 216 (evading social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance premium payments).

Chu Minh To, Director of Department for Social Insurance Books and Health Insurance Cards, stressed that the Vietnam Social Security always creates favourable conditions for insurance card holders to access health care services.

The sector is responsible to correct and change health insurance cards for the beneficiaries if their names, dates of birth and sexes on the cards do not match the information in their declaration forms, he said, adding that the participants do not have to show any paper to prove.

If the scope of insurance coverage written on the cards is incorrect, card holders should contact the social security agency for granting the new one. Meanwhile, card holders with five consecutive years of insurance participation should provide information on their names and addresses of their previous workplaces if the social insurance code on their cards is incorrect. The Vietnam Social Security will correct and print new cards for beneficiaries in the course of the day.

International Cooperation Department