VI What is compulsory social insurance? Who is required to pay compulsory social insurance according to the 2024 Social Insurance Law? Which groups will have their compulsory social insurance contributions temporarily suspended from March 1, 2026, according to the latest regulations? Let’s find out more with Pham Consult!
What is compulsory social insurance?
Based on the provisions of Article 3 of the Social Insurance Law 2024, the following is stipulated:
Explanation of Terms
In this Law, the following terms are understood as follows:
- Social insurance is the guarantee to replace or compensate a portion of the income of social insurance participants when they experience a reduction or loss of income due to illness, maternity, work accidents, occupational diseases, retirement, or death, based on contributions to the social insurance fund or guaranteed by the state budget.
- Social retirement allowance is a type of social insurance guaranteed by the state budget for elderly people who meet the conditions as prescribed by this Law.
- Compulsory social insurance is a type of social insurance organized by the State that employees and employers who are subject to compulsory social insurance must participate in.
- Voluntary social insurance is a type of social insurance organized by the State that Vietnamese citizens voluntarily participate in and can choose the contribution level and payment method that suits their income.
Accordingly, social insurance is a mechanism that ensures participants are covered by insurance with the aim of replacing or compensating a portion of their income when it is reduced or lost due to risks or events such as illness, maternity, work accidents, occupational diseases, retirement, or death, implemented on the basis of contributions to the social insurance fund or guaranteed by the state budget.
Compulsory social insurance is one of the types of social insurance organized by the State where those subject to mandatory participation include employees and employers as stipulated by Vietnamese law.
Who are the subjects required to pay compulsory social insurance according to the law?
Based on the provisions of Clauses 1, 2, and 3, Article 2 of the 2024 Social Insurance Law, the subjects required to pay compulsory social insurance include:
(1) Vietnamese citizens who are employees subject to compulsory social insurance participation, including:
– Employees working under indefinite-term labor contracts, fixed-term labor contracts with a term of 01 month or more, including cases where the employee and the employer agree on a different name but the content reflects paid work, salary and management, direction and supervision by one party;
– Cadres, civil servants, and public employees;
– National defense workers and public employees, public security workers, and other workers in cryptographic organizations;
– Officers and professional soldiers of the People’s Army; officers, non-commissioned officers, and technical specialists of the People’s Public Security; – Personnel working in cryptography receive salaries equivalent to those of military personnel;
– Non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the People’s Army; non-commissioned officers and conscripted soldiers of the People’s Public Security; military, police, and cryptography trainees currently studying receive living allowances;
– Permanent militia;
– Workers going to work abroad under contracts as stipulated in the Law on Vietnamese Workers Going Abroad under Contracts, except in cases where international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party provide otherwise;
– Spouses who do not receive salaries from the state budget and are assigned to work abroad with members of the representative agencies of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam are entitled to living allowances;
– Enterprise managers, auditors, representatives of state capital, and representatives of enterprise capital as prescribed by law; – Members of the Board of Directors, General Director, Director, members of the Supervisory Board or supervisors, and other elected management positions of cooperatives and cooperative unions as prescribed by the Law on Cooperatives who receive salaries;
– Non-professional workers at the commune, village, and residential group levels;
– Individuals specified in point a of this clause who work part-time and whose monthly salary is equal to or higher than the lowest salary used as the basis for compulsory social insurance contributions;
– Business owners of registered business households participating as prescribed by the Government;
– Business managers, controllers, representatives of state capital, representatives of enterprise capital as prescribed by law; members of the Board of Directors, General Director, Director, members of the Supervisory Board or controllers and other elected management positions of cooperatives and cooperative unions as prescribed by the Law on Cooperatives do not receive salaries.
(2) Foreign workers working in Vietnam are subject to compulsory social insurance when working under fixed-term labor contracts of 12 months or more with employers in Vietnam, except for the following cases:
– Internal transfer within the enterprise as prescribed by law on foreign workers working in Vietnam;
– At the time of signing the labor contract, they have reached the retirement age as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 169 of the 2019 Labor Code;
– International treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member have different provisions.
(3) Employers subject to compulsory social insurance include state agencies, public service units; agencies, units, and enterprises belonging to the People’s Army, People’s Public Security and cryptographic organizations; political organizations, political-social organizations, political-social-professional organizations, social-professional organizations, and other social organizations; foreign agencies and organizations, international organizations operating in Vietnam; enterprises, cooperatives, cooperative unions, business households, other organizations and individuals who hire and employ workers under labor contracts.
Which subjects will temporarily suspend compulsory social insurance contributions from March 1, 2026?
Based on the provisions of Article 37 of the 2024 Social Insurance Law, amended by Clause 2, Article 86 of the 2025 Bankruptcy and Recovery Law, effective from March 1, 2026, the following provisions apply to those eligible for temporary suspension of mandatory social insurance contributions:
Temporary suspension of contributions to the retirement and death benefit fund is regulated as follows:
– In cases where the employer faces difficulties and has to temporarily suspend production or business operations, leading to the inability of both the employee and the employer to pay social insurance contributions, or the employer is subject to recovery procedures as prescribed by law on bankruptcy and recovery, contributions to the retirement and death benefit fund may be temporarily suspended for a maximum period of 12 months;
– Upon expiration of the temporary suspension period as stipulated in point a of this clause, the employer and the employee shall resume mandatory social insurance contributions and make up for the period of suspension.
The deadline for making retroactive payments is the last day of the month following the month in which the suspension of contributions ended. The amount of retroactive payment is equal to the amount due for the months of suspension.
In cases where an employee participating in compulsory social insurance is temporarily detained or suspended from work, the employee and employer shall temporarily suspend compulsory social insurance contributions;
If the employee receives full back pay, the employee and employer shall make retroactive payments for the period of detention or suspension from work equal to the amount due for the months of suspension.
