Every morning, Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan (67 years old, living in Hanoi) carefully records every expense item in a small notebook placed on the table. After more than 30 years of working as a garment worker, she retired with a salary of more than 6 million VND per month.
My pension is about 6.2 million VND. It sounds enough, but living expenses are very high now. Just the cost of medicine each month is nearly 2 million VND" - Ms. Lan shared.
Not only Ms. Lan, many elderly people are having to calculate spending very carefully to maintain their lives after retirement.
According to Ms. Lan, the biggest expense today is not only food but also healthcare costs. Old age causes chronic diseases such as blood pressure and bone and joint diseases to recur frequently.
My family has a health insurance card, so it's somewhat better, but I still have to buy more medicine outside. When I go for many check-ups, the cost increases again," she said.
In addition to medicine costs, daily living expenses are also not small. Electricity, water, food, gas... combined each month is also about 3-4 million VND.
Fortunately, I live with my son, so I don't have to rent a house. If I have to rent a room or live alone, it will definitely be very difficult to manage" - Ms. Lan confided.
Mr. Tran Van Binh (70 years old, used to work in the construction industry) also has a pension of more than 6 million VND. However, according to him, this amount of money is only enough to maintain basic life.
The elderly do not spend much, but illness is unavoidable. Some months they have to go to the hospital, and the cost of medicine is up to several million VND. Then they have to save for the following months" - Mr. Binh said.
According to Mr. Binh, many elderly people in the neighborhood still have to do small jobs such as parking and selling groceries to earn extra income.
According to statistics from Vietnam Social Security, the social insurance system is paying monthly for more than 3.5 million people receiving pensions and social insurance allowances, of which most receive money through personal accounts.
According to the social insurance agency, there is still a part of retirees who are enjoying low levels, even below 3.5 million VND/month, and need to be adjusted for support to ensure their lives.
Although pensions help workers have a stable income after quitting their jobs, for many people, the current benefit level is only enough to meet living needs.
Mr. Binh said that the most important thing for workers is to maintain social insurance contributions throughout the working process to have a pension when they get old.
Having a pension, even if it's small, is still much better than having no income. But if the pension level is higher, the life of the elderly will be less difficult," he said.
Meanwhile, Ms. Lan still maintains the habit of recording daily expenses. For her, the pension of more than 6 million VND is not only a source of income but also a "lifebuoy" to ensure her old age life: "I just hope my health is stable so I don't have to go to the hospital a lot. If I'm seriously ill, this amount of money will hardly be enough.
