Making a living in old age
According to the draft Law on Social Insurance (amended), the drafting agency (Ministry of Home Affairs) is submitting two options on the age for enjoying social pension benefits.
In which, the proposal to reduce the age of receiving allowances from 75 to 70 is receiving attention, especially for the elderly without pensions.
Regularly from early morning, Ms. Bui Thi Mung (71 years old, Nat Son commune, Phu Tho province) brings goods to the market to sell. At the age of over 70, when many people have rested, she still has to stick to the market to earn extra income.
Sell whatever money you can to take care of life. If you don't work, you won't have money for daily expenses," Ms. Mung shared.
According to her, increasing age has significantly reduced her health. Standing for many hours selling goods is no longer as easy as before, but because she does not have a pension, she still has to maintain her job.
When she learned that the draft is proposing to reduce the age for enjoying social pension benefits to 70, Ms. Mung expressed her excitement.
If they receive allowances from 70 years old, people like me will be less vất vả. The allowance may not be large but it is enough to spend on necessary things, less dependent on children and grandchildren," she said.
Sharing that wish, Ms. Bui Thi Hoa (66 years old, Gia Lam commune, Hanoi) still regularly brings vegetables to the market to sell every day to earn extra income.
According to Ms. Hoa, although the elderly no longer have as many spending needs as before, essential living expenses, especially medicine money, are still a burden as health declines.
She said that business is no longer favorable, while her health is no longer flexible. What she desires most is a stable allowance when she gets old to reduce the pressure of making a living.
If the age for enjoying the allowance is reduced to 70, more people will be entitled to it. That will be a great source of encouragement for people without pensions like us," Ms. Hoa expressed.
Proposal to reduce the age for enjoying allowances
Exchanging about the age to receive social pension benefits, lawyer Nguyen Thu Trang - Deputy Director of HEVA Law Company Limited - said that the social pension allowance regime is regulated from Article 21 to Article 24 of the Law on Social Insurance and in Decree No. 176/2025/ND-CP.
Accordingly, Vietnamese citizens are entitled to social pension benefits when they meet the following conditions:
People aged 75 and over who do not receive monthly pensions or social insurance allowances.
According to lawyer Nguyen Thu Trang, regulations on the age for enjoying social pension benefits are also being considered for amendment in the draft Law on Social Insurance (amended).
The drafting agency is submitting two options. The first option maintains the current regulations, meaning that people aged 75 and over who do not receive pensions or monthly social insurance allowances will be entitled to social pension benefits if requested.
Meanwhile, the second option proposes assigning the Government to decide on a roadmap to gradually reduce the age for enjoying allowances to 70 years old, in accordance with socio-economic development conditions and the ability to balance the state budget.
According to the summary report on the implementation of the Law on Social Insurance of the Ministry of Home Affairs - the agency in charge of drafting the draft Law on Social Insurance (amended), the whole country is implementing social pension allowances for about 2.5 million people, with a total budget from the state budget of nearly 7,000 billion VND.
Explaining the proposal to reduce the retirement age for receiving social pension benefits, the Ministry of Home Affairs said that gradually reducing the retirement age for social pension benefits is aimed at achieving the goal in Resolution No. 28-NQ/TW, aiming for about 60% of people after retirement age to receive monthly pensions, social insurance, or social pension benefits.
