Proposing to lower the hưởng age to fill the social security gap
The 2024 Law on Social Insurance (BHXH) stipulates that the age for enjoying social pension benefits is 75 years old for ordinary cases, and 70 years old to under 75 years old for poor and near-poor households.
Contributing opinions to the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Social Insurance, many localities proposed that the drafting agency consider reducing the age for enjoying social pension benefits lower than the current regulated age.
According to the Gia Lai Provincial Department of Home Affairs, through the practical implementation of the social pension allowance policy, it shows that in reality there are still many elderly people who do not have pensions, do not have monthly social insurance allowances, and have unstable incomes but are not classified as poor or near-poor households.
Meanwhile, this is a group with large incurred costs of healthcare and long-term care, especially for single people, without caregivers, or residing in difficult areas, leading to social security gaps.
Starting from that reality, the Department of Home Affairs of Gia Lai province proposed that competent authorities study adjustment, supplementation, and regulations in the direction of gradually reducing the age for enjoying social pension benefits.
In the immediate future, consider expanding the beneficiaries for people aged 70 and over who do not have pensions or monthly social insurance allowances.
Meanwhile, the Ha Tinh Department of Home Affairs proposed a roadmap to gradually reduce the retirement age for social pension benefits from 75 years old to 70 years old. Along with reducing the retirement age, this locality also proposed to study adjusting and raising the standard of social pension benefits.
Proposal to the Government to decide on the roadmap for reducing the hưởng age
Regarding the proposal to reduce the age for enjoying social pension benefits, the Ministry of Home Affairs said it will receive and consider supplementing part of the opinions in the draft amended Law.
The Ministry also cited statistics from the Department of Social Protection, Ministry of Health, showing that after implementing the reduction in the age of enjoying social pension benefits from 80 years old to 75 years old, the number of people after retirement age who receive monthly pensions, social insurance and social pension benefits increased by about 500,000 people. Thereby, contributing to raising the rate of beneficiaries to nearly 42% by 2025.
However, this number is still far from the target set by Resolution No. 28-NQ/TW. That is, in the period up to 2030, strive for about 60% of people after retirement age to receive monthly pensions, social insurance and social pension allowances.
Meanwhile, the number of subjects receiving monthly pensions and social insurance allowances (resolved by the social insurance agency) has only increased by about 100,000 people/year. Therefore, if there is no policy adjustment, it will be difficult to achieve the target set by the Central Executive Committee.
Accordingly, the draft amended Law proposes a plan to amend and supplement in the direction that the Government decides to gradually reduce the age of enjoying social pension benefits to 70 years old, in accordance with socio-economic development conditions and the state budget capacity of each period. This is to create flexibility for the Government to implement in accordance with the state budget capacity of each period.
The Government also submitted to the National Assembly Standing Committee a decision to gradually reduce the age for enjoying social pension benefits to below 70 years old when the necessary conditions are met.
Another option is that in case it is not possible to immediately allocate the State budget to implement this policy, it should be kept as currently regulated.
Regarding the pension benefit level, the Ministry of Home Affairs is proposing to maintain the current regulations in the 2024 Law on Social Insurance. Accordingly, the monthly social pension benefit level is regulated by the Government, in accordance with socio-economic development conditions and the state budget capacity of each period.
At the same time, allowing localities to, depending on socio-economic conditions, budget balancing capacity, mobilize social resources to provide additional support for social pension beneficiaries.
