The Social Insurance Law 2024, effective from July 1, 2025, stipulates that Vietnamese citizens aged 75 and over who do not receive a pension or monthly social insurance benefits will receive social pension benefits.
Vietnamese citizens aged 70 to under 75 who are poor households or near-poor households and meet the conditions are entitled to social pension benefits. The monthly social pension subsidy level is regulated by the Government in accordance with the socio-economic development conditions and the capacity of the state budget in each period.
According to current regulations, people aged 75 and over, without pensions and not receiving social insurance benefits, are entitled to receive a social pension of VND 500,000/month. This is an important step forward in building a multi-layered social security system, supporting millions of elderly people without stable income when they are old.
The two provinces and cities that have raised social pension benefits higher than the regulations are Ho Chi Minh City and Quang Ninh province.
In Ho Chi Minh City, the City People's Council has decided to increase the social pension subsidy to 650,000 VND/person/month (more than 1.3 times the Government's prescribed level) from September 1, 2025 to ensure fairness and stability in the lives of elderly people without pensions or regular allowances, with an estimated budget of about 1,522 billion VND/year.
Quang Ninh province stipulates the social pension subsidy level at 700,000 VND/month, for the elderly aged 75 and over and people aged 70 to under 75 from poor and near-poor households, an increase of 200,000 VND/month.
In Hanoi, on the morning of November 27, with the majority of delegates present in agreement, the Hanoi People's Council passed a Resolution regulating the standard level of social assistance and the city's social assistance policy.
According to the Resolution, the standard level of social assistance of Hanoi City officially increased from 500,000 VND/month to 650,000 VND/month, applied from January 1, 2026.
Recently, the Hai Phong City People's Council also passed a resolution to raise social allowance standards. Accordingly, the subsidy level in the whole city is 700,000 VND/month, 1.4 times higher than the national average.
After the merger, Hai Phong currently has about 852,000 elderly people, accounting for 20.34% of the population. The total estimated cost is more than VND 3,608 billion per year. The Resolution takes effect from January 1, 2026.
Thus, people aged 75 and over in Hai Phong will receive 700,000 VND/month, among the highest in the country, equal to Quang Ninh. Meanwhile, the national average is 500,000 VND, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are currently 650,000 VND.
The increase in subsidy levels by localities shows the proactiveness in taking care of social security for the elderly, contributing to ensuring a better life for about 1.5 million eligible people nationwide.
Social pension benefits include the following regimes: Monthly social pension benefits (at least VND 500,000); Support for funeral expenses; Receive health insurance paid by the state budget.
In addition, the State encourages localities to, depending on socio-economic conditions, the ability to balance the budget, combine mobilizing social resources to support additional social insurance contributions for voluntary social insurance participants and provide additional support to beneficiaries.
Every 3 years, the Government reviews and considers adjusting the social pension subsidy level.
Depending on socio-economic conditions, the ability to balance the budget and mobilize social resources, the Provincial People's Committee will submit to the People's Council of the same level a decision on additional support for social pension beneficiaries.
Based on the Government's proposal in accordance with the socio-economic development conditions and the capacity of the state budget in each period, the National Assembly Standing Committee decided to gradually reduce the age of receiving social pension benefits.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Home Affairs (formerly the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs), as of December 31, 2022, there were about 14.4 million retirees nationwide.
The Vietnam General Confederation of Labor assessed that about 5 million elderly people over 60 and under 80 years old, not poor households, not disabled, not receiving monthly allowances, may face difficulties in retirement.
The trade union organization said that many countries identify aging allowances as an important layer in the multi-layered social insurance system. Therefore, the state budget needs to provide an income guarantee for the elderly without pensions or monthly social insurance benefits.
