How to Voluntarily Contribute to Social Insurance

Legal Secretary would like to address your inquiry as follows:

According to Clause 1, Article 2 of Circular 01/2016/TT-BLDTBXH, individuals eligible to participate in voluntary social insurance are Vietnamese citizens aged 15 and older who are not subject to compulsory social insurance as regulated by social insurance law, including:

- Workers employed under labor contracts with a duration of less than 03 months before January 1, 2018; workers employed under labor contracts with a duration of less than 01 month from January 1, 2018, onward;- Non-professional participants operating in hamlets, villages, communes, neighborhoods, and residential areas;- Domestic helpers;- Participants engaged in production, business, and service activities without salary;- Cooperative members not receiving salaries or wages working in cooperatives and cooperative unions;- Farmers and self-employed workers including those who organize their labor activities to generate income for themselves and their families;- Workers who have met the age requirement but have not met the contribution period required to enjoy a pension according to social insurance law;- Other participants.

There are 02 voluntary social insurance benefits: retirement and survivorship. Participants in voluntary social insurance can choose one of the following methods to contribute to the retirement and survivorship funds:

- Monthly contributions;- Quarterly contributions (every 03 months);- Semi-annual contributions (every 06 months);- Annual contributions (every 12 months);- One-time contributions for multiple years but not exceeding 5 years per contribution;- One-time contributions for the remaining years if participants are eligible for age but the remaining contribution period to enjoy a pension does not exceed 10 years (120 months) to ensure they have contributed for 20 years to enjoy a pension.

Regarding the voluntary social insurance contribution rates:

1. The monthly contribution rate is 22% of the monthly income chosen by the voluntary social insurance participant.

The minimum monthly income chosen by voluntary social insurance participants equals the poverty threshold for rural areas as regulated by the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam, and the maximum is 20 times the statutory pay rate at the time of contribution.2. Quarterly, semi-annual, or annual contribution rates = Monthly contribution rate (x) 3/6/12 (corresponding to the 03/06/12-month contribution methods).3. One-time contributions for future years are calculated based on the total contribution of the months contributed in advance, discounted according to the average monthly investment interest rate of the social insurance fund announced by Vietnam Social Security of the year preceding the contribution year.4. One-time contributions for the remaining years are calculated based on the total contribution of the remaining months, applying compound interest based on the average monthly investment interest rate of the social insurance fund announced by Vietnam Social Security of the year preceding the contribution year.

Some notes on voluntary social insurance contribution rates:

- If voluntary social insurance participants have contributed according to the 03-month, 06-month, or 12-month contribution methods, or one-time contributions for multiple years, and during this period, the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam adjusts the rural poverty threshold, there is no need to adjust the difference in the amount already paid.- Voluntary social insurance participants who have paid according to the 03-month, 06-month, or 12-month contribution methods, or one-time contributions for multiple years will receive a partial refund of the previously paid amount if they fall into one of the following cases:- Switching to compulsory social insurance participation;- Receiving a one-time social insurance payout;- Deceased or declared dead by the Court.- The refunded amount equals to the amount paid corresponding to the remaining time compared to the contribution time under the mentioned methods and does not include any government support (if any).

Therefore, in your case, you are eligible to participate in voluntary social insurance. You can choose to contribute by any of the mentioned methods.

The above contents are regulated in Decree 134/2016/ND-CP and Circular 01/2016/TT-BLDTBXH.

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