Head of Viet Nam Social Security’s Department for Implementation of Social Security Policy, Dieu Ba Duoc, said it is necessary for family benefits to be included in the Law on the Elderly and the Law on Children.

Mr. Dieu Ba Duoc

Priority given to the comprehensive care for and development of children will generate human resources of high quality for the nation in the future.

Viet Nam’s population is aging rapidly. It is forecast that by 2025, some 25 per cent of Vietnamese will be elderly, or one in four. Of note, the number of lonely, female and unhealthy elderly people will make up a large proportion of the total, requiring intensive care and protection. The care of the elderly at the time being and in the future necessitates the supplementation of benefits as changes in the traditional family unit have resulted in children increasingly spending less time caring for their parents and the expansion of elderly care services in society. For these reasons, it is an essential requirement to include family benefits for the elderly and children in the social security system of Viet Nam, which needs to be supplemented and integrated in the sickness, maternity and health insurance regimes.   

In addition to those for the elderly and children, lawmakers should study and propose additional family allowances that focus on caring for people suffering from occupational accidents or diseases that require rehabilitation or caregivers.

Family benefits shall be added and integrated into the health insurance, sickness and maternity regimes in the compulsory social security system with proposed contribution rates as follows:

Based on the current contribution rate of health insurance, which is 4.5 per cent plus 3 per cent (of basic salary) to sickness and maternity, the contribution is expected to be an additional 1-3 per cent to pay for the care of children and the elderly.

Accordingly, apart from the health insurance regime, the social security fund will pay compensation when a labourer has to take time off work to take care of their sick child aged under 15 or take care of their aging parent. The specific level of compensation will be calculated and proposed in accordance with the principle of contribution, entitlement, and sharing with those suffering from occupational accidents and diseases that need rehabilitation or caregivers./.