Is the Bonus Counted as Salary for Social Insurance Contribution?

Mrs. Hien inquired whether the quarterly bonus would be considered as salary for the purpose of Social Insurance (SI) contributions. There is an opinion that if this bonus is paid quarterly, it will be deemed as a regular payment and thus counted as salary for SI contributions. Is this correct or not? Is the annual bonus considered as salary for SI contributions?

The Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs responded as follows:

The monthly salary for mandatory SI contributions for employees subjected to SI, as per salary policies determined by the employer, is stipulated in Article 89 of the Law on Social Insurance, Article 17 of Decree 115/2015/ND-CP dated November 11, 2015 by the Government of Vietnam, and is specifically guided in Article 30 of Circular 59/2015/TT-BLDTBXH dated December 29, 2015 issued by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs.

According to Clauses 2 and 3, Article 30 of Circular No. 59/2015/TT-BLDTBXH, from January 1, 2018 onwards, the monthly salary for mandatory SI contributions for employees subjected to SI as per salary policies determined by the employer includes the salary, salary allowances, and other supplementary amounts specified in Clause 1, Point a Clause 2, and Point a Clause 3, Article 4 of Circular 47/2015/TT-BLDTBXH dated November 16, 2015 issued by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs.

The mandatory monthly SI contributions do not include other policies and welfare benefits such as bonuses as specified in Article 103 of the Labor Code 2012, innovation bonuses, meal allowances, support for transportation, phone, travel, housing, child care, and child rearing; assistance when the employee has a deceased relative, the employee has a relative getting married, the employee's birthday, subsidies for employees facing difficult circumstances due to work accidents, occupational diseases, and other assistance or subsidies recorded as separate items in the labor contract under Clause 11, Article 4 of Decree 05/2015/ND-CP dated January 12, 2015 by the Government of Vietnam guiding the implementation of certain contents of the Labor Code.

In reference to the aforementioned provisions, the bonuses for employees working at the company (including quarterly and annual bonuses determined based on business production results and labor productivity) do not serve as a basis for the calculation of mandatory SI contributions.

According to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs

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