In the scorching sun in Hanoi, Mr. Nguyen Dang Giang, from Bac Ninh, is still diligently driving a technology motorbike taxi. Over 30 years old, he has been attached to this job for more than 5 years but has never participated in social insurance because he is used to freelance work and unstable income.
I used to think there was no need to pay social insurance. But seeing pensions continuously increasing, many elderly people have stable incomes, so now I also want to participate so that I can have a pension later," Mr. Giang shared.
Sharing the same thought, Ms. Bui Hong Hanh in Phu Tho said that she previously did not care about social insurance because she thought her pension was insignificant. However, when she saw that her mother had retired more than 5 years ago but the pension level was continuously adjusted to increase, she began to consider participating in voluntary social insurance.
According to Vietnam Social Security, for many years, the Government has continuously adjusted pension increases to ensure the lives of the elderly, especially prioritizing the group with low benefit levels.
Recently, Decree No. 162/2026/ND-CP stipulates that from July 1, 2026, pensions, social insurance allowances and monthly allowances will increase by 8% compared to the level enjoyed in June 2026. At the same time, the State continues to support raising the minimum benefit level to 3.8 million VND/month for some people with low pensions after adjustment.
This is not the first time the policy of raising the "bottom" of pensions has been implemented. Since 2022, the Government has increased pensions by 7.4%, and at the same time provided additional support for retirees before 1995 with low benefits to narrow the gap between generations of retirees.
By 2023, the pension increase ranged from 12.5% to 20.8%, with support to increase the minimum level to 3 million VND/month. In 2024, pensions continued to increase by 15%, while the group retiring before 1995 was raised to a minimum of 3.5 million VND/month.
The continuous improvement of pensions is clearly affecting the psychology of workers, especially freelancers who previously paid little attention to long-term social security policies.
According to Vietnam Social Security, currently freelancers only need to contribute from 330,000 VND/month to be able to participate in voluntary social insurance to accumulate pensions.
Participants are allowed to choose an income level as a basis for contribution suitable to their financial capacity, at least 1.5 million VND/month. With this level, the corresponding contribution amount is 330,000 VND/month. Some groups such as poor households, near-poor households, and ethnic minorities are also supported by the State.
In addition to flexible contributions, people can choose to pay monthly, quarterly, annually or pay once for many years to come, creating favorable conditions for workers with unstable incomes.
A noteworthy point is that the 2024 Law on Social Insurance has reduced the minimum number of years of contribution to receive a pension from 20 years to 15 years. The new regulation expands the opportunity for those who participate late or have intermittent contributions to still be eligible for monthly pensions.
According to experts, instead of receiving one-time social insurance, maintaining participation to have pensions and health insurance cards when old will help workers have a more stable financial source, reducing the pressure of medical expenses in the context of increasing life expectancy.
Data from Vietnam Social Security shows that at the beginning of May 2026, the number of people receiving one-time social insurance benefits nationwide decreased by 21.7% compared to the same period. Currently, there are about 3.5 million people nationwide receiving monthly pensions.
By the end of 2025, the number of social insurance participants reached more than 21.5 million people, an increase of more than 46% compared to 2018. These figures show that more and more workers choose to stay in the social security system to accumulate for their old age, instead of just looking at immediate benefits.
