As life expectancy increases, the concept of "career longevity" also needs to be re-evaluated

Viet Nam currently has approximately 16.5 million elderly people, equivalent to 16% of the population. It is projected that by 2036, the proportion of elderly people will reach around 20%, marking Viet Nam's entry into an aging population phase. This rapid transition necessitates early preparation in the labor market, social security, healthcare, long-term care, and social services.

A notable point is the gap between life expectancy and the number of years lived in good health. While the average life expectancy of Vietnamese people has reached 74.7 years, the number of years lived in good health is only 65.4 years. This gap of nearly a decade shows that extending life expectancy must go hand in hand with improving the quality of life, autonomy, health, and income of the elderly.

Aging is also clearly evident in the labor market. According to ILO data, in 2024 Viet Nam will have approximately 2.6 million people aged 65 and over still working. Within the next decade, more than one in five Vietnamese people will be over 60 years old. This scale raises serious questions about the quality of work available to older workers.

Instead of focusing primarily on the care needs of the elderly, the new approach emphasizes their ability to continue participating in economic life if they so desire and are healthy enough. Their professional experience, accumulated skills, and social knowledge can continue to create value when the labor market designs positions that match their age, health, and abilities.

This orientation has been concretized in the National Strategy on the Elderly to 2035, with a vision to 2045. For the period 2025-2030, Viet Nam aims for at least 50% of elderly people with the need and ability to work to have jobs; at least 100,000 people to receive career guidance and vocational retraining; and 100,000 households with eligible elderly members to receive preferential loans for production and business.

Employment opportunities for the elderly should focus on suitable jobs with stable incomes and guaranteed essential benefits. The requirement is to create a suitable "contribution space" where age is taken into account in job design, skills training, work schedule organization, occupational safety, and access to social security.

The ILO office in Vietnam emphasizes that as people live and work longer, older workers need access to decent employment, opportunities to update their skills, and adequate social security. This is an even more urgent requirement in light of the changes brought about by digitalization, artificial intelligence, economic integration, and the green transition.

Social security must be one step ahead

Extending employment opportunities only partially solves the problem. A sustainably aging society also needs a sufficiently broad social security system to ensure that the elderly have a stable income when their ability to work declines. Pensions, social insurance, social retirement benefits, health insurance, and care services become closely interconnected layers of protection.

Notably, the coverage of social retirement benefits has been significantly expanded. By July 2026, approximately 2.5 million people nationwide receive benefits under this policy. From October 5th, 2026, the social retirement benefit will be increased from VND 500,000 to VND 540,000 per person per month, representing an 8% increase.

Eligible beneficiaries include Vietnamese citizens aged 75 and above who have not yet received a pension or monthly social insurance benefit, or who are receiving a benefit lower than the social retirement benefit level, and who meet the prescribed conditions. Those aged 70 to under 75 belonging to poor or near-poor households are also eligible if they meet the relevant conditions.

Expanding this social security layer is significant given that a segment of the elderly population does not yet have a pension. However, the long-term challenge remains expanding social insurance coverage while workers are still of working age, thereby increasing the number of people entering old age with a stable and independent income source, reducing pressure on social assistance and the state budget.

The national strategy also aims to ensure that by 2030, 100% of the elderly will possess health insurance cards; at least 90% will receive timely primary healthcare, regular health check-ups, and have health records established. At least 50% of hospitals meeting the strategy's requirements will allocate separate examination rooms and inpatient treatment beds for the elderly.

This demand will create a huge service market. Data from specialized agencies under the Ministry of Health shows that the current network has 218 elderly care facilities, serving approximately 15,000 people. This is still quite modest compared to over 16 million elderly people, especially given the rapidly increasing demand for long-term care in the coming years.

Transforming the Challenge of Aging into a New Economic Driver

Population aging also opens up a significant economic space: the silver economy. The demand for healthcare, housing, nutrition, finance, insurance, travel, assistive technology, rehabilitation, and long-term care will increase with the growing number of older people. This could become a new market for businesses, creating many new types of jobs.

Older people can also participate in this care economy. With their life experience, professional skills, and community understanding, they can become advisors, peer support providers, or offer various community-based services. The ILO notes that care jobs need to meet decent employment standards, be accompanied by appropriate training, and have access to social security.

The orientation towards leveraging the resources of the elderly is further strengthened with the effective date of the Population Law No. 113/2025/QH15 on July 1, 2026. The new policy framework addresses the issue of supporting the elderly in labor, employment, social security, entrepreneurship, economic development, and digital transformation, creating a legal basis to promote the active participation of this population group.

On September 3, 2026, the Prime Minister issued Decision 1702/QD-TTg approving the Project “Strengthening International Cooperation on the Elderly in the period 2026-2031”. The project aims to utilize international resources, knowledge, experience, technology, and models to enhance domestic capacity, adapt to aging, reduce social security pressure and labor shortages, and gradually build a silver economy.

Another important approach is investing in skills. In the digital economy, many professional experiences remain valuable, but the way work is done is changing rapidly. Retraining, upgrading digital skills, and creating opportunities for lifelong learning can help older workers adapt better, extend their working lives as needed, and reduce the risk of being pushed out of the labor market.

The problem of an aging population, therefore, needs to be solved simultaneously on three pillars: creating suitable employment opportunities, building a sufficiently broad social security system, and developing a care network that meets growing needs. These three pillars support each other, helping older people maintain economic independence, be protected from risks, and continue to participate in social life.

Viet Nam has about a decade left before the predicted milestone of an aging population. The preparation period is rapidly shrinking. If policies on employment, skills, social insurance, healthcare, long-term care, and the silver economy are developed comprehensively today, higher life expectancy could lead to a better quality of life, while simultaneously unlocking a significant resource for the economy./.