Explaining this point of view, Mr. Gian said that in old age, meritorious people have a very difficult life, without income. Compared to the contributions and sacrifices of himself and other meritorious people, the amount of subsidy is quite limited.
According to Mr. Gian, the meritorious man, when he got old, had many diseases related to age as well as the consequences of war. His poor health made it impossible for Mr. Gian to move around easily to help his wife with her daily chores.
“I have received disability benefits since 1980, at that time it was 25,000 VND/month, now after 44 years it has increased to 3,300,000 VND. This increase is not enough to cover the cost of medicine and food to ensure my wife and I can live together,” said Mr. Gian.
Sharing more, Mr. Gian said that his wife has no income, and her daily expenses depend on her husband's 1.5 million VND after deducting expenses. Therefore, everything is always calculated very carefully before spending so as not to have to rely too much on the children.
"Because of poor health, very few people who have contributed to the revolution can work hard to save for their old age. If the allowance does not increase every year, my children will be the ones who will have the most burden because their health will get worse every year, and they will have to spend a lot of money," said Mr. Gian.
The annual increase proposed by Mr. Gian is 25% for those receiving subsidies under 3 million VND/month and 15% for those receiving subsidies over 3 million VND/month.
Mr. Pham Van Rau (79 years old, Nam Dinh) shared that even though he lives alone, he still has to calculate his daily expenses very carefully, with more than 4 million VND in disability and disability benefits.
“Asthma, prostate enlargement and sciatica cost me more than 2 million VND per month. Other expenses such as meals, electricity and water cost an average of 1 million VND per month. That leaves only 1 million VND to buy food and milk to nourish my body,” Mr. Rau confided.
Whenever the village needed support or his children got married or built a house, Mr. Rau felt sad because he didn't have much money to give. His health was deteriorating so Mr. Rau had to stop repairing bicycles, losing his only source of income.
According to Mr. Rau, in 2025, subsidies for meritorious people should still be increased even though salaries of civil servants and public employees may not be increased, because this is a special group.
"Increasing subsidies for people with meritorious services shows the State's great gratitude to those who have sacrificed their blood and bones to preserve the independence of the Fatherland as well as ensuring their lives are more stable and secure until the end of their lives," Mr. Rau expressed his opinion.
Mr. Rau wishes to increase the subsidy by at least 15% per year. According to Mr. Rau, this increase will help those with merit to have more money to pay for medicine and food. In addition, he himself can easily support his children, grandchildren, and neighbors, and even save money every month to do more meaningful things.
