VSS to cut social insurance debt to under 3%
The Vietnam Social Security (VSS) hopes to reduce social insurance debt to below 3% of its full-year collection plan for this year, heard a conference held in Hanoi on November 15.
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According to Nguyen Tri Dai, head of the collection department at the VSS, by the end of October, compulsory social insurance and voluntary social insurance collection have failed to reach targets, hitting 95.2% and 58.9% respectively.
He also said unpaid social insurance premiums reached VND16.6 trillion (US$731 million) by end of October, accounting for 6.3% of the full-year collection plan.
He said that of the VND16.6 trillion, a large portion had been owed for less than six months, with social insurance making up VND7.3 trillion and unpaid health insurance VND1.5 trillion.
Dai attributed the huge insurance debt to poor compliance with social insurance regulations by enterprises and insurance agencies. Some agencies do not report debt to local governments.
The VSS will take measures to cut social insurance debt owed by businesses to slash the insurance debt ratio to below 3% of the plan in the last months of this year, he said.
Social insurance agencies in provinces were asked to collect from enterprises that have not paid for less than six months and work with law enforcement agencies to inspect those that have owed insurance for more than six months.
Tran Dinh Lieu, Deputy General Director of VSS said as of October 31, provincial social insurance agencies had conducted 2,328 inspections on the collection of social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance, with few results.
Lieu said suing businesses owing social insurance premiums is a measure to reduce debt.
According to the Social Insurance Law, Labour Code and Civil Law, firms owing social insurance premiums can be taken to court, but suing businesses on the brink of bankruptcy has been problematic, with even successful lawsuits unlikely to yield payment.
The VSS is working with agencies to set up a decree which detailed the inspections as well as punishment on businesses who failed to obey insurance regulations to protect the interests of labourers. Cases will be referred to the police and settled in accordance with the law, he said.
