Ms. Luong Thi Ngoat, 76 years old (from Thanh Hoa), is selling street food in Ba Dinh district, Hanoi. She is small, thin, and her eyes are blurred due to her age, but she still diligently shows off her goods every night.
From 6pm to 10am, Ms. Ngoat quietly sells street food to earn money to raise her 4 orphaned grandchildren.
"When I was young, I worked in the fields. Now that I no longer have the ability to sell, I switch to street vendors. Some days I earn a hundred thousand dong, on lucky days I earn two hundred thousand dong. But mainly enough to buy rice and vegetables for the children" - she shared.
Her husband died early, her son and daughter-in-law had a traffic accident more than ten years ago, and Ms. Ngoat became the only support for the four children. It was thought that at this age, the elderly like Ms. Ngoat could enjoy their children and grandchildren, but their family circumstances combined with no pension made her still have to struggle to make a living.
"We are tired. What to get from rest to survive? Without pensions, I now only rely on a few small things. I am not afraid of suffering, I am only afraid of the children being hungry" - she said.
Like Ms. Ngoat, Ms. Tran Thi Thuc (88 years old) still quietly follows her granddaughter to Dong Xuan market every night to sell souvenirs. Handmade bracelets and necklaces are the main source of income for the two of them. Despite her tired back and leg pain, she still sat until the market was sparse and the lights gradually fading.
"No one of my children has a stable job. I don't have a pension, I don't dare to be sick, I don't dare to retire. Now I just hope the State will help me a part, so that I can have less hardship in the last years of my life" - Ms. Thuc said while her hands were still moving and arranging things in the basket.
The story of the two women is not unique. According to statistics from the Department of Population (Ministry of Health), there are currently about 11 million elderly people nationwide, of which nearly 40% do not have pensions or social insurance benefits. They mainly depend on freelance workers, children, or social allowances. With increasingly high living standards and increasing medical costs, the lives of elderly people without pensions are increasingly unstable.
Faced with this situation, the Law on Social Insurance 2024 (effective from July 1, 2025) has added regulations on social pension benefits.
Vietnamese citizens aged 75 and over who do not receive monthly pension or insurance benefits, if they have an application, will receive social pension benefits.
In particular, people aged 70 to under 75, if they are from poor or near-poor households and meet the prescribed conditions, will also enjoy this policy. The monthly subsidy level decided by the Government, periodically every 3 years, will be reviewed to adjust to suit socio-economic conditions and budget capacity. Local authorities can also provide additional support to beneficiaries depending on specific conditions.
According to the draft Decree detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Social Insurance on social pension benefits, the proposed monthly social pension benefits are VND500,000/month.
When effective from July 1, this policy alone will have more than 1.2 million elderly people receiving benefits. The budget is expected to spend 4,000-5,000 billion VND per phase.
Compared to the Law on Social Insurance 2014, social pension benefits are a new policy of the Law on Social Insurance 2024, to support the elderly who are not eligible for monthly pensions and social insurance benefits, in order to contribute to ensuring social security.
