Deputy PM calls for greater effort to expand social insurance coverage

Hanoi (VNA) - Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has directed Vietnam Social Security (VSS) to focus on expanding coverage of compulsory and voluntary social insurance and raising public awareness of its importance.

Speaking at an online conference held by VSS on December 24 to discuss development orientations in 2021, the Deputy PM highlighted the achievements of the sector in 2020, especially health insurance coverage reaching 90.85 percent.

He attributed the results to the involvement of the entire political system, especially the coming together of Party committees, local authorities, and the media, and the core role of VSS.

According to the Deputy PM, international organisations highly value Vietnam’s achievements in the insurance field, saying it took the country only 17 years to reach health insurance coverage of 90 percent, while the best-performing country spent 40 years doing likewise.

VSS was also the first unit to implement administrative reform and streamline its organisation apparatus, he said, noting that this not only serves the insurance sector’s development but also contributes to modernising the IT network for national governance.

He was also frank in pointing out shortcomings, such as the low proportion of working-age employees participating in social insurance and voluntary social insurance, and many enterprises not paying social insurance premiums on time.

The Deputy PM expressed his belief that in the near future, the social insurance sector will achieve the same feats as the health insurance sector as a whole.

In his opening remarks to the online conference, VSS General Director Nguyen The Manh stressed that Vietnam’s social insurance sector has achieved remarkable achievements, making important contributions to the implementation of social progress and equity, ensuring socio-political stability and people’s lives, and promoting sustainable development in the country.

In 2020, the sector basically fulfilled assigned targets, tasks and plans set for the year, especially measures to support agencies, businesses, and people in responding to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters.

Social insurance coverage was expanded, with more than 16.1 million participants, reaching 32.6 percent of working-age people. The number of voluntary social insurance participants was nearly 1.1 million, an increase of 494,000 this year.

The country has nearly 13.3 million people covered by unemployment insurance. Health insurance coverage continued to record impressive growth, with about 88 million participants, accounting for 90.85 percent of the population and exceeding by 0.15 percent the target set in Government Resolution No 01 and up 25.6 percent compared to 2015.

VSS processed over 133,300 dossiers for monthly pension and social insurance benefits this year, bringing the total number of monthly pensioners and social insurance beneficiaries to about 3.2 million./.