Mr. Pham Van Tam (60 years old, Nam Dinh) quit his job at the company a year ago after having paid social insurance for 20 years. Since then, he has bought health insurance every year to protect himself because every month he has to go to the hospital for check-ups and get medicine.
“I have two diseases: heart disease and high blood pressure, so I have to go to the hospital every month to get medicine. Without health insurance, it would be very expensive,” Mr. Tam shared.
However, this year, when the cost of health insurance increased to nearly 1.3 million VND, Mr. Tam felt it was quite expensive. "Not working anymore, having to pay for health insurance every year by myself is a pity and a waste of money" - Mr. Tam said.
According to Mr. Tam, the social insurance agency should create more favorable conditions for workers who do not withdraw their social insurance at once but leave it to receive pensions. In particular, free health insurance is a typical practical policy.
“Not everyone can generate income while waiting for their pension. Every year, health insurance increases, forcing us to tighten our daily spending to buy it. If it could be free, that would be great,” Mr. Tam expressed his wish.
Sharing more reasons for wanting to be exempted from health insurance while waiting for retirement age, Mr. Tam said that if this policy is implemented, it will further encourage workers not to withdraw social insurance.
“Issuing free health insurance cards to people who are eligible for pension but have not reached retirement age shows special concern, helping me feel secure about my finances and health,” Mr. Tam expressed.
Agreeing with Mr. Tam's opinion, Mr. Pham Van Duc (56 years old, Nam Dinh) said that not everyone has the opportunity to work until retirement age.
“Because of poor health and ineffectiveness at work, the company let me go. I started working early, so I have paid social insurance for 21 years. If I didn’t have to pay voluntary social insurance, I would have received a pension,” said Mr. Tam.
Since hearing the news of increasing the retirement age to 62 for men, Mr. Duc has become even more worried. Because there are still 6 years left until then, while his income is unstable and he still has to spend a lot of money every month.
Every day, Mr. Tam has to raise chickens and repair bicycles to make ends meet. The cost of health insurance has increased to nearly 1.3 million VND, making him feel extremely heartbroken.
“I can’t make much money in my hometown, my average income is just over 2 million VND/month. Buying health insurance is expensive, but if I don’t buy it, I’m afraid of getting sick and spending a lot of money, which will affect my children,” said Mr. Duc.
Therefore, Mr. Duc recommends that for those who have paid 20 years of social insurance and decided to keep waiting to receive pension, the State also needs to have a special policy of attention.
“If possible, we should be given free health insurance cards or we should only pay 30% to 50% of the cost. There is nothing more frightening than illness and declining health when we get old,” Mr. Duc confided.
Employees who quit their jobs but do not meet the conditions for pension benefits as prescribed in Articles 54 and 55 of the Law on Social Insurance 2014 or have not received one-time social insurance benefits as prescribed in Article 60 of this Law shall have their social insurance payment period reserved.
During the period of reserving social insurance payment period, employees must participate in family health insurance to enjoy this regime.
