Freelance workers still have maternity benefits and pensions
Voluntary social insurance (BHXH) is being improved in the direction of reducing access conditions, expanding benefits and increasing support from the state budget.
With the 2024 Law on Social Insurance reducing the minimum number of years of contribution to receive pensions from 20 years to 15 years, supplementing maternity allowance regimes, and policies to support higher contributions from the budget, informal workers have more opportunities to participate, maintain the contribution process and accumulate to receive pensions when they are old.
This is a group of workers with very large social security needs but income is often unstable, jobs are flexible, and it is difficult to participate in compulsory social insurance. Therefore, developing voluntary social insurance is not only a task of expanding social insurance coverage, but also an important solution to ensure long-term social security for farmers, freelancers, small traders, people working without labor contracts and vulnerable groups.
Mr. Phan Viet Tuan, residing in Hoi Quan street, Tam Son ward, Bac Ninh province, is the first male worker to participate in voluntary social insurance and receive maternity benefits when his wife gives birth here.
Honestly, initially I participated in voluntary social insurance only for the purpose of accumulating to have a pension later to reduce the burden of children. I never thought that when my wife gave birth, I would also be supported by the State with a maternity allowance like when I worked at a company. This amount is really very practical for me to take care of diapers and milk for my baby in the early days of birth, and the benefit procedures are also very simple, convenient, and fast" - Mr. Tuan said.
In case Mr. Tuan is entitled to maternity allowance according to Article 94 of the 2024 Social Insurance Law: "Subjects with voluntary social insurance contribution time or both compulsory social insurance contribution time and voluntary social insurance contribution time of 06 months or more within 12 months before giving birth are entitled to maternity allowance when falling into one of the following cases: Female worker giving birth; Male worker with wife giving birth".
According to the social insurance agency of Tu Son - Bac Ninh, the story of Mr. Phan Viet Tuan receiving maternity benefits has attracted the attention of a large number of freelance workers here. In markets and craft villages, the story of "participating in voluntary social insurance and receiving maternity benefits" is becoming a hot topic of discussion.
Timely and targeted payment not only affirms the prestige of the social insurance agency but also shows the concern of the Party and State in building comprehensive social security policies.
Participating in voluntary social insurance is not only a "savings" for old age, but also a companion with young families right in the important milestones of life.
From major policies to policy changes close to the people
Resolution No. 28-NQ/TW dated May 23, 2018 of the 7th Conference of the 12th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam on social insurance policy reform identifies social insurance as a key pillar of the social security system; towards building a multi-layered, flexible, modern, shared and internationally integrated social insurance system.
In that orientation, voluntary social insurance plays a particularly important role, because this is a policy for workers who are not eligible for compulsory social insurance. If compulsory social insurance is a social security pillar for workers in areas with stable labor relations, then voluntary social insurance opens up a "door" for informal workers to also have the opportunity to be protected when they reach retirement age.
Vietnam Social Security said: After more than 7 years of implementing Resolution No. 28-NQ/TW, the number of people participating in voluntary social insurance has increased rapidly. In which:
In 2018, the whole country had 277,190 people participating in voluntary social insurance; by 2019, it increased to 558,109 people, equivalent to an increase of 101.3% compared to 2018.
From 2020 to 2025, the number of participants continued to increase year by year; by the end of 2025, it reached 2,619,258 people, an increase of 13.83% compared to 2024, reaching 5.49% of the working age population.
Along with increasing coverage, voluntary social insurance policies are also adjusted in a more substantive direction, closer to the needs of the people. A notable change of the 2024 Social Insurance Law is reducing the minimum number of years of social insurance contribution to receive a pension from 20 years to 15 years.
This regulation is of great significance to voluntary social insurance participants, especially those who start participating when they are old, have not accumulated for long or have unstable incomes.
Reducing the conditions on contribution time helps many people have more opportunities to qualify for monthly pensions, instead of leaving the system or only receiving one-time social insurance benefits.
When having a pension, participants not only have a stable income in old age, but also are issued health insurance cards according to regulations, thereby reducing the burden of medical examination and treatment costs during the old age.
Another new point is that the 2024 Law on Social Insurance supplements maternity allowances to voluntary social insurance policies. This regulation helps voluntary social insurance policies not only be associated with retirement and death benefits, but also expand practical benefits for participants.
The policy of supporting voluntary social insurance contributions from the state budget is also continuing to be improved. According to regulations, Vietnamese citizens aged 15 and over, who are not subject to compulsory social insurance, can all participate in voluntary social insurance and are supported by the State with contributions at a percentage rate on the monthly social insurance contribution level, calculated on the poverty line in rural areas. This content has been stipulated in Decree No. 159/2025/ND-CP dated June 25, 2025 of the Government. In which:
Participants in voluntary social insurance are supported by the State with contributions at a percentage (%) on the monthly voluntary social insurance contribution level according to the poverty line of rural areas as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 31 and Clause 1, Article 36 of the Law on Social Insurance, specifically:
- Equal to 50% for participants from poor households, people living in island communes, special zones according to the regulations of the Government and the Prime Minister;
- Equal to 40% for participants from near-poor households;
- Equal to 30% for participants who are ethnic minorities;
- Equal to 20% for other participants.
In addition to support from the central budget, many localities also proactively issue policies to further support voluntary social insurance participants.
According to Vietnam Social Security, as of March 2026, 28/34 provinces and cities have resolutions to support from local budgets for voluntary social insurance participants, including Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Bac Ninh, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Nghe An, Ninh Binh...
