Mandatory and Voluntary Social Insurance: The Real Benefits You Receive (updated with 2024 Social Insurance Law)

For many workers, social insurance (BHXH) only appears as a line item "deducted" from their monthly paycheck. But viewing it this way means missing out on one of the most important pillars of financial security for your entire life — especially now that the 2024 Social Insurance Law (No. 41/2024/QH15) takes effect on July 1, 2025 with many beneficial changes for participants.

What benefits does social insurance give you?

Social insurance isn't "money lost," but rather the right to receive multiple benefits when facing life events or in old age:

Mandatory social insurance (applies to those with employment contracts) includes these benefits:

• Sickness: income support when taking time off for medical treatment.
• Maternity: benefits for female workers (and partially for male workers) when having children.
• Occupational accidents – occupational diseases: allowances when facing workplace risks.
• Retirement: monthly pension in old age — the core benefit.
• Survivor benefits: allowances for family members when a participant passes away.

Voluntary social insurance (for those not subject to mandatory coverage: self-employed workers, household businesses, freelancers) previously only included retirement and survivor benefits. The 2024 Law has expanded to include maternity benefits for voluntary participants, and added voluntary occupational accident insurance.

Important changes from July 1, 2025

The 2024 Social Insurance Law includes many notable changes. Here are the points that directly affect your benefits:

1. Reduced minimum contribution years to receive pension: from 20 years down to 15 years. This is a major change, opening up pension opportunities for those who join late or contribute intermittently — instead of being "empty-handed" if you haven't reached 20 years as before.
2. Voluntary social insurance now includes maternity benefits: eligible participants receive 2 million VND for each child born, guaranteed by the state budget, with no additional contribution required from participants.
3. Added social retirement allowance: citizens aged 75 and above (previously 80) without a pension will receive an allowance; those in poor/near-poor households aged 70 to under 75 are also eligible.
4. Tightened one-time social insurance withdrawal: people who begin participating from July 1, 2025 onward will not be allowed to withdraw lump-sum, except in special cases (reached retirement age but haven't accumulated 15 contribution years, emigrating abroad, suffering critical illness, severe loss of working capacity). The goal is to encourage maintaining contribution time to receive pensions.

Why withdrawing social insurance as a lump sum is usually a disadvantageous decision

When facing difficulties, many people want to withdraw their social insurance as a lump sum to get immediate cash. But in exchange, you lose the entire accumulation process toward a pension — a stable income source throughout the latter part of life when you're no longer able to work, along with health insurance paid by the fund during your pension period. If there's any other way to manage, preserving your contribution time is almost always the more beneficial long-term choice.

Voluntary social insurance — an option worth considering for self-employed workers

If you're a freelancer, small trader, or household business — groups not subject to mandatory social insurance — then voluntary social insurance is a way to build a pension for yourself. The attractive points:

• State subsidizes part of the contribution amount.
• Flexibility to choose contribution level and payment method based on your capacity.
• After the benefit expansion (adding maternity), the product becomes more worth considering than before.

Where does social insurance fit in your retirement picture?

Think of social insurance as the foundation layer in your retirement plan, not the entirety of it. Pensions from social insurance typically only replace a portion of pre-retirement income. For a comfortable retirement, you need to add two more pillars: personal savings and long-term investments (see more in our Retirement series).

Note: regulations and specific amounts may be adjusted through implementing documents; please check the latest information at social insurance offices or official information portals before making decisions.

Want to know what level of voluntary social insurance to participate in, or whether you should preserve your contribution time instead of withdrawing lump-sum? Ask [Sirifin's AI advisor](/vi/ai-advisor), or [schedule with an expert](/vi/advisors) for analysis tailored to your circumstances.

Content is informational and for financial education purposes, not legal or insurance advice for specific cases.