Vietnam Social Security (VSS) is determined to stick to and be determined to implement the Resolutions and directions of the Government and the Prime Minister on ensuring social security; resolve difficulties and support businesses and employees to overcome the Covid-19 pandemic. To continue to work with ministries, branches and localities to advise and propose policies and solutions to better support participants of social and health insurance; support businesses and workers hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Vietnam's social insurance industry will constantly promote digital transformation, IT application, and administrative reform to create maximum convenience for participants and beneficiaries of social, unemployment and health insurance policies; support policies more quickly, timely and accurately.

General Director of Vietnam Social Security Nguyen The Manh: Vietnam's social insurance industry on a daily basis accompanies people, workers and businesses to overcome the pandemic

Making the first move and quickly implementing support solutions

Following the direction of the Government and the Prime Minister, in the spirit of urgently bringing the Government's support policies to employees and employers hit by the Covid-19 pandemic as soon as possible, right after the Government issued Resolution No. 68/NQ-CP and the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 23/2021/QD-TTg, the Vietnam's social insurance industry has mobilized all efforts to drastically implement support policies in the field of social and unemployment insurance with the goal of absolutely not generating additional procedures and documents outside of regulations, and not having overdue dossiers; ensured to make settlement for employees and enterprises within no more than one working day after receiving complete dossiers.

Regarding the final result, just over a week after the issuance of the Prime Minister's Decision No. 23/2021/QD-TTg, on July 16, 2021, the VSS has completed the reduction of the contribution rate by 0% to the insurance fund for occupational accidents and diseases. Specifically, the social security encies of the provinces and cities have completed the procedures and sent notices to 375,335 employers, equivalent to 11,238,437 employees with the temporarily adjusted amount reduced to the insurance fund for occupational accidents and diseases (from July 2021 to June 2022) of about 4,322 billion VND.

This social insurance contribution reduction is both a practical solution to help businesses overcome the current difficult period and still ensure the settlement of employees' legitimate rights when unfortunately suffering from occupational accidents and diseases, contributing to ensuring employees' lives and health, especially in the context of inherent difficulties caused by the Covid-19 epidemic.

In addition, by the end of September 1, 2021, the Vietnamese social insurance industry has received and processed applications for 403 units in 44 provinces and cities, with 68,568 employees temporarily suspending contributions to the retirement and survivorship fund with the amount of 473.3 billion VND. The list of 651,429 employees of 26,595 employers to enjoy policies in 61 provinces and cities has been confirmed.

Timely settlement for social and health insurance participants' interests

Over the years, the payment and settlement of social, health and unemployment insurance benefits for participants have always been properly, adequately and timely implemented by the VSS. In the context of the complicated development of the Covid-19 epidemic, from 2020 until now, this work has received more and more attention, in order to make timely payments and create more favorable conditions in the participants' process of enjoying social, health and unemployment insurance policies.

Illustrative image (source: VSS)

In 2020, the Vietnamese social insurance industry has settled nearly 134,000 new monthly social insurance beneficiaries; nearly 9.6 million turns of people enjoying sickness, maternity, convalescence and health rehabilitation regimes; nearly 167.3 million turns of medical treatment using health insurance, etc.; maintained the payment of pensions and monthly allowances for over 3.2 million people (in which: cash payments for nearly 2.5 million people; paid for over 700,000 people via personal accounts).

In the context of the Covid-19 epidemic, the unemployment insurance policy has also helped hundreds of thousands of employees in terms of financial resources to overcome difficult times to maintain their lives; helped employers not be under financial pressure and helped them not have to pay severance and job loss allowances for employees. In 2020, the whole country has settled the unemployment insurance regime for more than 1 million people with the payment amount of more than 16,000 billion VND.

Entering 2021, with more complicated developments of the Covid-19 epidemic, in the first 8 months of the year, the entire Vietnam's social insurance industry has handled: 4,739,050 turns of people enjoying sickness benefits; 1,202,594 turns of people enjoying the maternity regime; 258,323 turns of people enjoying the convalescence and rehabilitation regime, etc. By the end of July 2021, there were over 84 million turns of people receiving medical treatment covered by health insurance; More than 400,000 people received unemployment benefits, and more than 9,000 workers received vocational training support.

It can be said that, in the context of the complicated development of the Covid-19 epidemic that has seriously been affecting the production and business activities of enterprises and a large number of workers losing their jobs, support policies on social and unemployment insurance according to Resolution No. 68/NQ-CP of the Government for employees and employers, as well as the full and timely settlement of social, unemployment and health insurance regimes of the Vietnam's social insurance industry for participants have really promoted their effectiveness, making an important contribution to supporting people, employees and businesses to overcome difficulties; continued to affirm the pivotal role in the social security system of the social and health insurance policies.

Promoting IT application and creating flexible support methods

In the context of prevention and control of the Covid-19 epidemic, many localities have to apply social distancing; In order for social, health, unemployment insurance and other support policies to be timely for people, employees and businesses, over the past time, the VSS has been flexible and creative in payment and support methods to create maximum convenience for participants.

The VSS has provided 100% of the level 4 online public service (sending documents, receiving and returning results via online format) on the Government's National Public Service Portal; promoted the payment of pensions and social insurance benefits through ATM accounts and the banking system, implemented time-pooling and home payment; encouraged participants to use the VssID application on smartphones for use in medical treatment under health insurance, in performing public services with the social security agency, in searching and benefiting from social and health insurance policies, etc. in order to help participants and beneficiaries of social, health and unemployment insurance policies limit travel and direct contact, contributing to reducing the risk of Covid-19 infection in the community.

At the same time, in order to create favorable conditions for employees and employers in the context of complicated developments of the Covid-19 epidemic in many localities across the country, the VSS has actively built processes and adjusted professional softwares to supplement functions, promptly responding to the implementation of support policies on social and unemployment insurance according to the provisions of Resolution No. 68/NQ-CP and Decision No. 23/2021/QD-TTg.

In addition, the VSS has coordinated with the Government Office and related units to connect and integrate to provide 5 out of 7 online services to support employees and employers hit by the Covid-19 pandemic in the country on the National Public Service Portal (https://www.dichvucong.gov.vn), including: Supporting employees to suspend labor contracts and take unpaid leave; Supporting employers to borrow capital to pay wages for work stoppage and restoring production; Supporting employees to stop working; Supporting employees ineligible for unemployment benefits to terminate labor contracts; Suspension of contributions to the retirement and survivorship fund.

In the face of complicated developments of the Covid-19 pandemic with many provinces and cities having the need to exploit data and authenticate information about participants and beneficiaries of social, health and unemployment insurance benefits, the VSS has been actively sharing data in the national insurance database for localities to use in making test lists, vaccination lists, identifying background disease information, fast tracking and tracing of F0 patients; zoning and stamping out epidemics in industrial parks, export processing zones, employers' workplace, etc.

It can be seen that a series of proactive and drastic solutions in the implementation of tasks of the Vietnamese social insurance industry over the past time have contributed to improving the quality of service for participants of social and health insurance; promptly supported employees and employers hit by the Covid-19 epidemic; especially contributing to reducing the travel and contact of people and businesses with the social security agency in solving regimes and policies, in order to limit the possibility of spreading the disease outside the community. Thereby, effectively contributing to the ministries, departments, branches and localities to join hands to repel the Covid-19 epidemic, ensuring social security./.