The Ministry of Justice has just announced the dossier for appraisal of the draft Decree of the Government stipulating social assistance policies and social pension allowances, which was drafted by the Ministry of Health. The draft is being consulted before being submitted to the Government for consideration and decision.
Accordingly, the draft proposes to adjust the standard level of social assistance and social pension benefits from 500,000 VND to 540,000 VND/month, equivalent to an increase of 8%, expected to be applied from July 1, 2026.
If you only look at the figure of an increase of 40,000 VND per month, many people may think that this adjustment is not large enough to create significant changes in the lives of beneficiaries.
But for millions of elderly people without pensions, people with disabilities, people with loss of working capacity and those in particularly difficult circumstances who are mainly living on social allowances, this is an increase in spending that will put significant pressure on the budget.
According to calculations, with about 4.5 million people enjoying the policy, adjusting the allowance level to 540,000 VND/month will increase budget expenditures by about 304 billion VND per month. Total additional expenditure is expected to increase in 2026 (from July 1) by about 1,824 billion VND.
Another issue is that in the context of the base salary increasing from July 1st, pensions and many social insurance allowances were also adjusted to increase by 8%, raising the standard of social assistance shows the synchronization in social security policies.
Because if the income of many groups improves, while subsidies for vulnerable people remain unchanged, the gap in living standards will widen.
In fact, those who are receiving social assistance are the group most clearly affected by price fluctuations.
For many lonely elderly people, people with severe disabilities or people with loss of working capacity, monthly social allowances are almost the last guarantee for them to maintain their lives.
Therefore, although the increase is not large, it is still of practical significance. It is an affirmation that in the process of development, the most vulnerable people are always cared for, shared and protected.
Finally, although the standard social assistance level has been raised to 540,000 VND/month, it is still quite low compared to actual needs. Therefore, it is still necessary to continue to study the mechanism to adjust the social assistance level in a more flexible direction, closely following price fluctuations and people's minimum living standards.
When social life changes, social security policies also need to be updated to maintain the actual support value.
Caring for the most vulnerable is one of the important measures of social development.
And development achievements are only truly meaningful when no one is left behind, standing outside the growth momentum, for any reason.
