Sending a question to Vietnam Social Insurance, reader L.T.S said: "I was born in February 1965, have paid social insurance for 33 years, salary coefficient 4.98, allowance 0.8, exceeding the 7% limit. In August 2026, I am old enough to retire.
May I ask, can I pay voluntary social insurance for another 2 years, pay 1 time for 35 years of social insurance contributions to receive 75% of my pension? If so, will I be able to pay the maximum amount?
If I pay once for 2 years in September 2026, will I receive a pension equal to the pension level of 35 years of social insurance contributions in October 2026? ".
Regarding this issue, Vietnam Social Security responds as follows:
According to the provisions of Article 54 of the Law on Social Insurance 2014 amended at Point a, Clause 1, Article 219 of the 2019 Labor Code, employees who have paid social insurance for 20 years or more when retiring will receive pension if they fall into one of the following cases:
- Sufficure in age as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 169 of the Labor Code;
- Meeting the age prescribed in Clause 3, Article 169 of the Labor Code and having worked for 15 years in arduous, toxic, dangerous or especially arduous, toxic, dangerous jobs on the list issued by the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs or having worked for 15 years in areas with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions, including working time in areas with regional allowance coefficient of 0.7 or higher before January 1, 2021;
- Employees who are at least 10 years younger than the retirement age of employees specified in Clause 2, Article 169 of the Labor Code and have worked for 15 years in underground coal mining;
- People infected with HIV due to occupational accidents while performing assigned tasks.
- Female workers who are commune-level cadres, civil servants or part-time workers in communes, wards and towns who have participated in social insurance upon retirement but have paid social insurance for 15 years to less than 20 years and have reached the retirement age prescribed in Clause 2, Article 169 of the Labor Code are entitled to receive pensions.
Conditions for receiving maximum pension
According to Article 56 of the Law on Social Insurance 2014, the monthly pension of female employees retiring from 2018 is calculated at 45% of the average monthly salary for social insurance contributions corresponding to 15 years of social insurance contributions, male employees retiring from 2022 onwards are calculated at 45% of the average monthly salary for social insurance contributions corresponding to 20 years of social insurance contributions.
Then, for each additional year of social insurance contributions, an additional 2% is calculated; the maximum rate is 75%.
Thus, to achieve a monthly pension of 75%, female workers need to have paid social insurance for 30 years when they are old enough to receive pension and male workers need to have paid social insurance for 35 years.
Subjects eligible to participate in voluntary social insurance
Clause 4, Article 2 of the Law on Social Insurance 2014 stipulates that voluntary social insurance participants are Vietnamese citizens aged 15 and over and are not subject to compulsory social insurance.
According to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 87 of the Law on Social Insurance 2014, Article 9 of Decree No. 134/2015/ND-CP dated December 29, 2015 of the Government detailing a number of articles of the Law on Social Insurance on voluntary social insurance, voluntary social insurance participants can choose one of the following payment methods to contribute to the pension and death fund:
- Pay monthly;
- Pay every 3 months;
- Pay every 6 months;
- Pay every 12 months;
- Pay one time for many years later but not more than once every 5 years;
- Paying one time for the remaining years for social insurance participants who are eligible for pension according to regulations but the remaining social insurance payment period is not more than 10 years (120 months), then they will be paid for 20 years to receive pension.
In case the social insurance participant has reached the prescribed retirement age but the remaining social insurance payment period is less than 10 years, if wishful, he/she shall continue to pay voluntary social insurance according to one of the methods specified in Points a, b, c, d and d, Clause 1 of this Article until the remaining social insurance payment period is not more than 10 years, he/she shall pay it once for the remaining years to receive pension according to the provisions of Point e, Clause 1 of this Article.
According to Point c, Clause 1, Article 5 of Circular No. 01/2016/TT-BLDTBXH dated February 18, 2016 of the Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Social Insurance on Voluntary Social Insurance, in case a social insurance participant is eligible for pension but continues to participate in voluntary social insurance, the pension receipt date will be the 01st month following the month of voluntary social insurance payment suspension and a pension request is made.
Vietnam Social Insurance provides some of the above information for readers to grasp. If you need a detailed explanation and guidance, readers can contact the social insurance organization where they are participating in social insurance for advice and specific answers.
