Can housewives participate in social insurance in Vietnam?

Can housewives participate in social insurance in Vietnam?

Article 2 of the Law on Social Insurance 2014 provides for subjects of application as follows:

1. Employees being Vietnamese citizens shall be covered by compulsory social insurance, including:

a/ Persons working under indefinite-term labor contracts, definite-term labor contracts, seasonal labor contracts or contracts for given jobs with a term of between full 3 months and under 12 months, including also labor contracts signed between employers and at-law representatives of persons aged under 15 years in accordance with the labor law;

b/ Persons working under labor contracts with a term of between full 1 month and under 3 months;

c/ Cadres, civil servants and public employees;

d/ Defense workers, public security workers and persons doing other jobs in cipher organizations;

dd/ Officers and professional army men of the people's army; officers and professional non-commissioned officers and officers and technical non- commissioned officers of the people's public security; and persons engaged in cipher work and enjoying salaries like army men;

e/ Non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the people’s army; non- commissioned officers and soldiers on definite-term service in the people’s public security; army, public security and cipher cadets who are entitled to cost- of-living allowance;

g/ Vietnamese guest workers defined in the Law on Vietnamese Guest Workers;

h/ Salaried managers of enterprises and cooperatives;

i/ Part-time staffs in communes, wards and townships.

2. Employees who are foreign citizens working in Vietnam with work permits or practice certificates or practice licences granted by competent Vietnamese agencies shall be covered by compulsory social insurance under the Government’s regulations.

3. Employers covered by compulsory social insurance include state agencies, non-business units and people's armed forces units; political organizations, socio-political organizations, socio-politico-professional organizations, socio-professional organizations and other social organizations; foreign agencies and organizations, and international organizations operating in the Vietnamese territory; enterprises, cooperatives, individual business households, cooperative groups, and other organizations and individuals that hire or employ employees under labor contracts.

4. Persons covered by voluntary social insurance are Vietnamese citizens aged full 15 years or older and not defined in Clause 1 of this Article.

5. Agencies, organizations and individuals involved in social insurance.

The subjects defined in Clauses 1, 2 and 4 of this Article are below collectively referred to as employees.

According to this Article, housewives can also participate in social insurance. If the housewife is at least 15 years old and does not do other jobs, they can participate in voluntary social insurance.

What benefits will voluntary social insurance participants receive in Vietnam?

In Article 4 of the Law on Social Insurance 2014, there are regulations on social insurance benefits as follows:

1. Compulsory social insurance covers the following benefits:

a/ Sickness;

b/ Maternity;

c/ Occupational accident and occupational disease;

d/ Retirement;

dd/ Survivorship allowance.

2. Voluntary social insurance covers the following benefits:

a/ Retirement;

b/ Survivorship allowance.

3. The supplementary retirement scheme shall be stipulated by the Government.

According to this Article, social insurance participants will be entitled to retirement and survivorship allowance as prescribed in Vietnam.

What are social insurance principles in Vietnam?

Article 5 of the Law on Social Insurance 2014 provides for social insurance principles as follows:

1. Levels of social insurance allowances shall be calculated based on the social insurance premium rate, the premium payment period and the sharing among the insured.

2. The compulsory social insurance premium rate shall be calculated based on an employee’s monthly salary. The voluntary social insurance premium rate shall be calculated based on the monthly income selected by employees.

3. Employees who pay both compulsory and voluntary social insurance premiums are entitled to the retirement benefits and survivorship allowance benefits based on their period of social insurance premium payment. The period of social insurance premium payment already calculated for enjoying a lump-sum social insurance allowance shall not be included in the period used to calculate social insurance benefits.

4. The social insurance fund shall be managed in a centralized, uniform, public and transparent manner; used for proper purposes and independently accounted by component funds and groups of the insured subject to the state- prescribed salary benefits and the employer-decided salary benefits.

5. Social insurance shall be implemented in a simple, easy and convenient manner, promptly and fully ensuring the interests of the insured.

The above are the principles of social insurance in Vietnam.

Best Regards!