As assigned by the Government, the Ministry of Health has just sent the Ministry of Justice for appraisal of the draft Decree detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Social Insurance on social pension benefits.
According to the draft, the social pension subsidy will increase from 360,000 VND to 500,000 VND/month/person. At the same time, the age of receiving the allowance has also decreased from 80 to 75. This new regulation will replace the concept of "social allowance" with "social pension allowance" when the Social Insurance Law 2024 takes effect from July 1, 2025.
People aged 75 and over; not receiving monthly pension or social insurance benefits, except in cases where they are receiving monthly pension or social insurance benefits lower than the pension benefit level; have a written request to receive social pension benefits.
Vietnamese citizens aged 70 to under 75 who are poor households, near-poor households and do not receive monthly pensions or social insurance benefits, except in cases where they are receiving pensions or monthly social insurance benefits lower than the pension benefits; have a written request to receive social pension benefits.
The monthly social pension subsidy is 500,000 VND/month.
When a person receiving a monthly social pension upon death, the funeral organization or individual shall receive a funeral cost support of VND 10,000,000.
The Ministry of Health said that the estimated number of people eligible for additional social pension benefits is 800,000 people. According to data from the National Population Database at the end of 2024, the whole country needs 17 million elderly people, including 1.854 million people aged 75 to 80, 227,000 people receiving pensions, 120,000 people receiving social allowances for people with disabilities.
The number of people eligible for social pension benefits is about 1.5 million people. The number of people aged 70 to under 75 in poor households and near-poor households eligible for social pension is estimated at about 100,000 people.
Thus, the total number of beneficiaries of social pension benefits is about 1.6 million people.
According to the Ministry of Health, the regulation on social pension benefits aims to help the elderly have better living conditions in the context of population aging. With a social pension subsidy of VND 500,000/month, the total implementation cost is VND 9,600 billion/year (VND 800 billion/month).
In 2025, the estimated cost of social pension benefits (implemented from July 1) for the elderly is VND 4,800 billion.
Social pension benefits are monthly support paid by the state to the elderly who do not have pensions or are not eligible for social insurance. This is a social security policy to ensure minimum income, helping the elderly have stable living conditions when they are no longer able to work.
According to Clause 2, Article 3 of the Law on Social Insurance 2024, beneficiaries of social pension benefits will simultaneously enjoy the following regimes:
Monthly social pension benefits;
Health insurance paid by the state budget;
Support for funeral expenses upon death.
