Many people want to retroactively pay social insurance for missed months. Based on the 2024 Social Insurance Law and Decree 159/2025, voluntary social insurance participants are not allowed to retroactively pay for the interrupted period.
This means that if the participation process is "interrupted", workers will not be able to compensate to resume time as many people still mistakenly believe.
Only paid once when eligible
Current law still allows participants to pay once for the remaining time to be eligible for pension, but with strict conditions attached.
Participants must:
Has reached retirement age according to regulations;
Having a shortened contribution period of no more than 5 years (60 months);
Completed the registered closing method (such as 12 months or 36 months);
It is noteworthy that during the time of implementing the chosen payment method, the social insurance agency has not considered and resolved the one-time payment request.
Reality has recorded cases of participation from 2016 but interruption of 1 month in 2022. After that, this person requested compensation and one-time payment for the remaining time. Through review, the social insurance agency determined that the interrupted month was not subject to retroactive payment. At the same time, because it is still in the 36-month payment period, it is not yet eligible for settlement.
Avoid interruptions so as not to harm benefits
The Social Insurance Agency recommends that people should maintain continuous voluntary social insurance contributions, avoid interruption because it will directly affect the accumulation time to receive pensions.
Participants also need to carefully consider when choosing the method of contribution, suitable to their financial capacity; proactively learn about regulations before changing the contribution level or contribution period, and have a long-term plan to avoid "missing" participation time.
After completing the registered contribution period and meeting the conditions, participants can still contribute once for the remaining period to receive a pension. However, this regulation does not apply to the period that has been interrupted before.
Conditions for enjoying pensions from 2026
According to the 2024 Law on Social Insurance, voluntary social insurance participants are entitled to a pension when they reach retirement age according to the 2019 Labor Code and have 15 years of social insurance contributions.
In 2026, the retirement age in normal conditions is:
61 years 6 months
57 years old
Workers can stop paying when they have reached 15 years and wait until retirement age to enjoy benefits. However, continuing to participate will help increase the pension level, contributing to ensuring stable income in old age.
