Late afternoon, construction works in Phu Dien ward (Hanoi) are still bustling with the sound of drilling, cutting, and mixing mortar. In a small corner, Mr. Nguyen Van Tu (59 years old, from Thai Binh) took the opportunity to sit down after a few hours of continuous support. Facing in the sun, his hands are raw, Mr. Tu sighed and said: "I'm old but I still have to do it. A day of work by a bricklayer earns more than 400,000 VND, and if you take a day off, you lose it. When I returned to my hometown, I had no fields or gardens, and my children were not stable. I don't dare to sit still."
Mr. Tu said that he has been working since he was a young man, now his health has begun to weaken, and there are times back pain and weak limbs. But no matter what day off, I lose income that day. Thinking about the future when you are old and weak, if you can't do it anymore, you don't know where to turn.
Mr. Nguyen Hoang Duc (42 years old, from Thai Binh) - said that working as a construction worker, he earns more than 300,000 VND per day, and he earns every day.
Unstable income and unstable work make me always live in a situation where I know that day, accumulating old age seems too far away, said Mr. Duc.
The story of Mr. Tu or Mr. Duc is also a common concern of many freelancers making a living in Hanoi. Unstable income, working day by day, accumulating old age seems too far away. Therefore, participating in voluntary social insurance (SI) is considered a "lifeline" to help them have a solid support when old age comes.
Mr. Nguyen Van Tu said that recently, he has been hearing on loudspeakers about the voluntary social insurance policy. Currently, he also learned more online and through friends. Seeing that this is a way to get a pension when I am old, and an additional health insurance card for medical examination and treatment. Seeing it as quite suitable, in the coming time he will participate in voluntary social insurance to have a support when he is old and will still enjoy benefits.
Lawyer Nguyen Vo Khai - Mai Kim Thach Law Office (Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association) - said: Currently, freelance workers can participate in voluntary social insurance. This is a humane policy of the Party and State, aiming to ensure long-term benefits for workers without formal labor relations.
According to Lawyer Khai, when participating in voluntary social insurance, employees will receive pensions when they are eligible, helping to reduce the burden of life in old age, and at the same time being granted free health insurance cards for health care. In case the participant dies, relatives will receive death benefits according to regulations.
Article 5 of Decree 159/2025 of the Government stipulates that poor households and people living in island communes and special zones will receive 50% state support at the contribution level, near-poor households will receive 40% support, ethnic minorities will receive 30% support at the contribution level, and other subjects will receive 20% support. This is a practical source of support, helping workers freely access the social security system in a sustainable and proactive way.
