The average salary used as the basis for social insurance (SI) contributions is a factor that directly determines the pension level and one-time allowances when employees retire or are eligible for the regime.
The 2024 Social Insurance Law and Decree 158/2025/ND-CP have clearly stipulated the principles, methods of calculating and adjusting salaries to ensure the rights of employees.
General principles: Article 72 of the Social Insurance Law 2024 and Article 15 of Decree 158/2025/ND-CP stipulate: the average salary for social insurance contributions to calculate pensions, one-time allowances, one-time death allowances or monthly allowances for people who are not eligible for pensions is determined according to the payment period and group of subjects.
Workers under the State salary regime
In the case of the entire period of social insurance payment according to the State salary, the average level is calculated on the last number of years before retirement, according to the roadmap:
Before January 1, 1995: the average of the last 5 years.
January 1, 1995 - December 31, 2000: The last 6 years.
January 1, 2001 December 31, 2006: The last 8 years.
January 1, 2007 - December 31, 2015: The last 10 years.
January 1, 2016 December 31, 2019: The last 15 years.
January 1, 2020 - December 31, 2024: The last 20 years.
From January 1, 2025: the entire social insurance payment period.
Special cases are also guaranteed rights: people who have worked hard or toxic are entitled to a higher salary for this period; officers and soldiers who have transferred fields are calculated according to the salary of the final years before transferring fields if they are more beneficial; people with seniority allowances or working time at the commune level are calculated according to separate regulations. In particular, the working period before 1995 without salary will not be included in the average.
Workers receive salaries decided by enterprises
The subject of social insurance payment according to the salary paid by the enterprise will be calculated on average for the entire social insurance payment period.
People with two social insurance payment stages
People who pay both the State salary and the enterprise salary will be calculated as the general average, in which the State salary payment period applies the above formula.
Adjusting salaries for social insurance contributions
To prevent price spikes, salaries have been adjusted before the average. Social insurance participants before January 1, 2016 are adjusted according to the reference level at the time of receipt; participants from 2016 onwards and non-state workers are adjusted according to the consumer price index prescribed by the Government and announced annually by Vietnam Social Insurance.
New regulations in the Social Insurance Law 2024 help employees easily calculate pension levels, proactively plan financial plans when retiring or receiving one-time allowances.
