People do not clearly understand that it will be difficult to be ready
The actual records of Lao Dong reporters at some markets and residential areas in Hanoi show that: Many small and medium-sized business households do not have clear information about having to participate in compulsory social insurance from July 1, 2025.
Ms. Le Thi Lan - a businesswoman selling newborn baby items for mother and baby at Phung Khoang market (Nam Tu Liem, Hanoi) - said that she only "listened briefly" to the information about participating in compulsory social insurance for business households.
"I heard it was a breeze but I didn't understand it very well. Maybe my business scale is too small, so I have not been reminded about this" - Ms. Lan said.
According to Ms. Lan, she has never participated in social insurance, so she does not understand and do not fully understand the rights of beneficiaries. When asked if she participates in compulsory social insurance according to regulations, Ms. Lan said that "if required, she will participate".
Ms. Bui Thi Hoa, a business owner in Ha Dong ward (Hanoi), said: It is not clear how the business household must participate in compulsory social insurance from July 1, especially the implementation method and how the documents start. "When there are instructions from local officials or the insurance industry, I will take action" - Ms. Hoa said.
Similarly, business owner Nguyen Thi Lan (CT5 Urban Area, Thanh Liet Ward, Hanoi) also said that there is currently quite uncertainty about information about participating in compulsory social insurance. "I do not fully understand the information about participating in compulsory social insurance from July 1, and the scale of the business may be too small, so I have not been reminded by the relevant agency" - Ms. Lan said.
Ms. Bui Thi Hoa (Ha Dong ward) and Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan (Thanh Liet) - asked: "I also don't know who is paying voluntary social insurance, now that I opened a business, do I have to pay an additional type of social insurance" and "My parents are paying voluntary social insurance every 5 years, my father paid until December 2025, and my mother paid until February 2028. If my parents have to pay compulsory social insurance from July 1, 2025, what should I do?".
Many problems from the grassroots
According to the Social Insurance Law 2024, from July 1, 2025, business household owners who pay taxes according to the declaration method will have to participate in compulsory social insurance. By July 1, 2029, the remaining group will also have to participate. The minimum contribution rate is 25% of the reference rate (currently 2.34 million VND), equivalent to about 585,000 VND/month - not including allowances.
Up to now, there are still no official statistics on the number of business owners paying taxes according to the declaration method or the number of business households that have paid social insurance (not mandatory). However, in Hanoi, there are currently nearly 200,000 registered business households, but only about 1,000 individual business households have participated in social insurance with nearly 6,000 employees. In general, the whole country has about 5 million business households, of which about 37,000 households have revenue of over 1 billion VND/year (according to the declaration) but the number of insurance participants is very small. From July 1, all of the above 37,000 households must participate in compulsory social insurance.
The cause was cited as lack of information. A business owner in Ho Chi Minh City shared: "I went to the social insurance agency to ask about the procedures for paying social insurance for myself as a business owner and I heard it was "waiting for instructions". But when it will be, I don't know."
On the other hand, for the group of business households without clear legal status, without accounting department or periodic financial reporting, determining who is the owner to use as the basis for social insurance collection is also a challenge. In addition, with unstable income, especially in small business households, paying an additional 600,000 VND/month is considered a "burden" - especially in the context of escalating prices and declining revenue after the pandemic. In addition, unlike enterprises with administrative staff - accountants taking care of social insurance procedures, individual business households must "swim on their own". Declaration, reporting increase/ decrease, closing books, enjoying short-term benefits... are all barriers to implementation.
Need to "go one step ahead", from propaganda to action
Associate Professor, Dr. Ngo Tri Long - an economic expert - said: "To ensure the successful implementation of expanding the compulsory social insurance regime for business owners, the social insurance agency needs to take a step forward, carefully preparing all stages from propaganda to management. The message "business owners are employees - have the same rights and obligations as other employees" needs to be widely communicated in easy-to-understand language, for example, analyzing direct benefits such as pensions, health insurance cards, maternity benefits, etc.
In particular, Mr. Long said that, along with forms such as coordinating with wards, communes, and residential groups to organize propaganda and communication conferences on social networks, Zalo, and Facebook, social insurance agencies must communicate strongly on official media, with reputable press agencies. "This will be an easy-to-reach channel and create trust for business households when approaching social insurance policies. In the immediate future, the Ministry of Home Affairs and Vietnam Social Insurance need to quickly issue a Circular guiding this issue" - Mr. Ngo Tri Long said.
The policy of expanding compulsory social insurance for business owners is a big step forward to ensure long-term security, avoiding the situation of "age without salary, disease without insurance". However, if there is no good preparation, it can become a "difficult problem" for the enforcement agency while the people are passive in the face of the right policy.
It is time for the social insurance industry to not wait for "guidance" but need to proactively "go one step ahead", from propaganda to action - so that no one is left behind on the journey to the safety of the entire people.
