Salary paid for social insurance in Vietnam 2025

On June 29, 2022, the National Assembly passed the Social Insurance Law of 2024, which is expected to take effect on July 1, 2025. Accordingly, the contribution rates for social insurance will change from the date the Social Insurance Law 2024 takes effect. Below is an overview of the new contribution rates, as well as details on the legal provisions outlined in the salary paid for social insurance in Vietnam 2025.

Subjects of social insurance participation

As stipulated in the 2024 Social Insurance Law, participation in social insurance includes two forms: mandatory social insurance and voluntary social insurance, similar to the provisions of the current law.

Mandatory social insurance:

There are two groups of employees required to participate in mandatory social insurance:

  Vietnamese employees, including:

• Individuals working under indefinite-term or definite-term labor contracts lasting at least 01 month;
• Officials, public servants, and employees (e.g., civil servants);
• Workers and employees in the national defense sector, public security sector, and those working in cryptographic organizations;
• Officers, career military personnel in the Vietnam People’s Army, officers and non-commissioned officers in the Vietnam People’s Public Security, and other personnel receiving military-equivalent benefits;
• Non-commissioned officers and soldiers serving in the Vietnam People’s Army or Public Security;
• Regular militia members;
• Employees working abroad under labor contracts;
• Spouses of officials working on overseas assignments who do not receive salaries from the state budget;
• Business managers, controllers, representatives of state capital, or board members receiving salaries from cooperatives or enterprises;
• Non-professional personnel at the commune, village, or neighborhood level;
• Employees working part-time but earning monthly salaries at least equivalent to the lowest monthly salary used as the basis for calculating mandatory social insurance contributions;
• Household business owners (business proprietors);
• Business managers, controllers, or cooperative board members not receiving salaries.

Foreign employees working in Vietnam under definite-term labor contracts lasting at least 12 months, excluding the following cases:

• Intra-company transferees as defined by Vietnamese labor laws;
• Individuals who have reached retirement age as stipulated by the law;
• Situations where international treaties to which Vietnam is a signatory provide otherwise.

Voluntary social insurance

Under Clause 4, Article 2 of the 2024 Social Insurance Law, the following individuals are eligible for voluntary social insurance:

• Vietnamese citizens aged 15 or older who are not subject to mandatory social insurance and are not receiving monthly pensions or social insurance allowances;
• Employees who are temporarily suspending labor or work contracts, excluding cases where both parties agree on continuing mandatory social insurance contributions during the suspension period.

Salary paid for social insurance in Vietnam 2025

Mandatory social insurance

Pursuant to Articles 33 and 34 of the 2024 Social Insurance Law, social insurance contribution rates for employees and employers as of July 1, 2025, are as follows:

Note: Contributions are based on the monthly salary used as the base for social insurance calculation:

• For individuals under the state-determined wage regime: Contribution is based on monthly salaries per rank, position, or military/police grade, including allowances.
• For individuals under employer-determined wages: Contribution is based on agreed-upon wages, including stable allowances and other supplements.

Voluntary social insurance

Pursuant to Article 36 of the 2024 Social Insurance Law, voluntary social insurance contributions are as follows:

• Rate: 22% of the chosen monthly income level used as the contribution base.
• Payment Options:
  • Monthly
  • Quarterly
  • Semi-annually
  • Annually
  • One-time payment for multiple years at a lower rate than 22%/month
  • One-time payment for the remaining period needed to qualify for pension benefits at a higher rate than 22%/month

Other insurance contributions for 2025

In addition to mandatory social insurance, employees are also required to participate in mandatory health insurance and unemployment insurance. As the current Health Insurance Law and Employment Law remain unchanged, the following contribution rates are expected to apply:

• Health Insurance:
  • Employee contribution: 1.5%/month
  • Employer contribution: 3%/month
• Unemployment Insurance:
  • Employee contribution: 1%/month
  • Employer contribution: 1%/month

Does lack of a labor contract affect social insurance contributions?

As analyzed above, employees under labor contracts are subject to mandatory social insurance. However, some employers evade contributions by not signing labor contracts. To address this issue, Article 13 of the 2019 Labor Code states:

“If the agreement between parties, regardless of its name, includes terms on remuneration, management, and supervision, it shall be deemed a labor contract.”

Similarly, Clause 1, Article 2 of the Social Insurance Law 2025 reinforces this provision. Therefore, in essence, even without a formal labor contract, employees should be entitled to mandatory social insurance.

However, in practice, if the parties do not enter into a labor contract, there is no legal basis or sufficient documentation for the employer to complete the procedures for registering the employee’s participation in social insurance. Therefore, to fully protect their rights, employees should proactively request that the employer formalize the labor contract.

Viet An Law has provided clients with information on “Salary paid for social insurance in Vietnam 2025”, which will take effect when the Social Insurance Law 2024 is implemented. If you have any questions or require legal assistance regarding related matters, please contact Viet An Law- Tax Agentcy for timely support.