This proposal has received the consensus of many elderly people, especially those who are no longer able to work but still have to make a living to cover their lives.
At the age of 73, Mr. Pham Van Vinh said that old age without a stable income source makes him always feel like he is becoming a burden to his children. Although his health has declined, he and his wife still try to work to earn extra income.
My wife collects scrap metal, picking up every penny. As for me, my health is weaker, so I stay at home to take care of chickens to get eggs, raise dogs and cats to sell. However, every month the children still have to support food and a part of the cost of feasts," Mr. Vinh shared.
To save spending, the couple still maintained farming, growing vegetables for daily life, using well water instead of installing clean water, and minimizing the use of electrical appliances in the family.
Currently, only his wife is 75 years old, so she is entitled to social pension benefits. According to Mr. Vinh, after turning 60, his health has significantly decreased, and by the age of 70, working becomes even more difficult.
Therefore, if people receive social pension benefits from 70 years old, it will be a very humane policy, helping the elderly reduce the burden of life.
If the proposal is approved, my husband and I will have an additional 1 million VND per month. With this amount of money, if spending sparingly, it will be enough to eat for about 20 days. At that time, the nearly 3 million VND income from other jobs can be used to buy milk, clothes and medicine every month," Mr. Vinh said.
Sharing the same expectation, Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhung (69 years old, Ninh Binh) said that she really hopes the regulation on reducing the age for enjoying social pension benefits to 70 years old will be passed soon.
According to Ms. Nhung, she is currently a near-poor household, so according to current regulations, she will be entitled to allowances from next year. However, if she is no longer a near-poor household, she will have to wait until she is 75 years old to receive social pension benefits.
Currently, I am a near-poor household, so next year I will be entitled to it. But if next year I am no longer considered a near-poor household, according to current regulations, I will have to wait until I am 75 years old," Ms. Nhung shared.
She also proposed that functional agencies can assign village officials to survey and specifically assess the circumstances of each elderly person. People in difficult circumstances should be entitled to allowances right from the age of 70.
According to Ms. Nhung, if the proposal to reduce to 70 years old is approved, she will be more reassured, no longer too dependent on being considered as a poor or near-poor household, as well as reducing the pressure on old age life.
My children are not well-off either, so I don't want to rely on much. Having more allowances will help life be less difficult, and have conditions to take care of their health so that my children are less worried," she said.
Ms. Nhung added that the social pension level of 500,000 VND per month is almost equivalent to the income from a whole month of working as a hired fabric flower maker and making votive paper. This amount of money will help her cover breakfast and a part of electricity and water costs.
According to current regulations, Vietnamese citizens aged 75 and over who do not have a pension or monthly social insurance allowance will be entitled to social pension benefits.
