Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Director of the Department of International Cooperation Nguyen Khang on behalf of VSS sent greetings to the partners attending the event of consultation and exchange of experiences on unified management of social security for the official and private sector between the VSS and the Cambodia's NSSF at the request of the WB. “We think this is a great opportunity for two agencies from two countries with relatively similar levels of socio-economic and cultural development to exchange and learn from each other in order to implement social policies and provide protection for all of our citizens, while contributing to social stability and promoting the economic development of each country.” Khang said.

Khang also expressed his hope that in this exchange, he could share some related issues that Cambodian colleagues are interested in, such as unifying the common management of national social security by many special management entities for the private sector, ensuring the rights of participants who are state employees when converting to the fund, the role and responsibilities of the State in the transition process, etc. as well as issues of concern to the Cambodian side.

At the meeting, a Cambodian representative said that Cambodia is currently implementing a compulsory social insurance system for people working in the public sector (ie civil servants, police and armed forces) but has not yet implemented the social insurance regimes for employees in the private sector. Retirement regimes for public servants is a non-contribution based benefit scheme, including retirement, disability and survivorship benefits. Financing for the public sector is currently covered by the Government budget.

Illustrative image (source: internet)

The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) is a social security organization in Cambodia established in 2008, implementing a health insurance and occupational accident program for the private sector. The Cambodian government plans to implement a pension scheme for the private sector. The Cambodian government is considering integrating social insurance for the existing public sector with the private sector and for NSSF to be the joint governing body for both the public and private sectors. This poses the problem that Cambodian policy makers face as to how to successfully transition to a unified NSSF regime, especially to ensure the rights of existing workers in the public sector when transferred to NSSF.

The principles of the formation of the private sector pension scheme have been agreed on the principle of contribution with an increasing contribution rate. Cambodia wants new employers in the public sector to join the NSSF and the benefits to be consistent with the private sector. The question is how existing public sector employees will be handled. The proposal under consideration is that the number of years of service of existing civil servants in the public sector up to 2021 will be calculated according to the old regulations and the remaining years after 2021 according to the regulations of the private sector. The second question is how the debts of existing public sector employees to date are transferred to the NSSF. Should the Treasury issue bonds to NSSF or should they pay incurred fees, similar to the VSS did for State funds?

Illustrative image (source: internet)

At the meeting, representatives of departments and professional boards of the VSS enthusiastically listened to the questions of the Cambodian side on a friendly and open basis. Although the working time is only encapsulated within the framework of one working session, the Cambodian side appreciated the shared ideas and contributions from the VSS. The sharing and suggestions in today's meeting will be the basis for the Cambodian side to better implement the work of ensuring social security in your country.

At the same time, Khang also emphasized: "VSS is very honored to share experiences with Cambodian partners about this event, this is both the responsibility of VSS as an active, reliable and responsible member of the Southeast Asian Social Security Administration (ASSA) community and International Social Security Association (ISSA) communities and an opportunity to create a bridge for cooperation and development between VSS and its members. As a member of ASSA with the WB and international organizations for social security in the region and the world, we hope that the WB will continue to support our Cambodian colleagues to make a successful transition and that VSS is committed to be a partner, dynamic, responsible, suitable and looks forward to accompanying the WB and other international organizations in similar events for other countries in the region and the world."