Hiếu Mạnh wrote this Vietnamese article, published in Luật Khoa Magazine on June 18, 2025.
For many elderly people in Việt Nam, retirement is not a time for rest. They continue working long past the official retirement age, rely on financial support from their children, or are forced to scrimp on every expense to afford basic living and medical costs.
With low pensions, rising prices, and expensive healthcare, life for Việt Nam’s growing elderly population is more complicated than ever. This growing crisis puts a spotlight on the core purpose of social security. A fair pension system is a vital component of any country’s policy, ensuring that working-age people are motivated to contribute and that the elderly are not left to struggle in poverty once they retire.
This reality raises a vital question for Việt Nam: Can its elderly truly live on their pension?
Pensions Up by Nearly 48% in Four Years
According to Phạm Trường Giang, Director of the Department of Social Insurance under the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, pensions in Việt Nam are typically benchmarked against per capita income. As of December 2024, the average pension is equivalent to about 63.2% of the GDP per capita.
Based on data from Việt Nam Social Security, Luật Khoa Magazine compiled the average monthly pension and number of recipients from 2021 to 2024, revealing a significant upward trend. The average pension increased by nearly 48%, rising from 4.2 million VND in 2021 to a high of 6.2 million VND in 2024. The number of pension recipients grew from 2.9 million to 3.4 million in the same period.
The upward trend in recipients saw a slight dip in 2022, when the number temporarily decreased to 2.7 million. This is largely attributed to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which, by April 2022, had caused 43,041 deaths in the country. The majority of victims were elderly or had underlying health conditions. Despite this anomaly, the overall number of retirees receiving pensions has increased.
From an “Aging” to an “Aged” Society
Việt Nam is amid a significant demographic shift, with its population aging much faster than earlier projections indicated. According to United Nations data, as of January 2024, the country’s population stood at approximately 99.2 million, with a median age of 33.2.
Based on Việt Nam’s national population database, as of February 2023, over 16.1 million people—around 17% of the total population—are aged 60 or older. This group includes 9.4 million people aged 60-69, 4.2 million aged 70-79, and more than 41,000 people over 100.
This transition is happening at a blistering pace. Health Minister Đào Hồng Lan has noted that Việt Nam is aging faster than any other Asian country, placing it among the top 10 fastest-aging populations globally. Hồ Chí Minh City alone has 1.3 million people aged over 60, around 12.5% of the population.
The UN predicts that Việt Nam will officially become an “aged society” by 2036, with seniors making up more than 20% of its population. The country’s aging index—a measure of the elderly population against the youth population—is expected to double between 2029 and 2049 nearly.
Further statistical projections indicate the following:
- By 2029, only 14 provinces will have more elderly than youth. However, by 2039, this number could reach 41.
- By 2038, seniors will comprise about 20% of the population.
If trends continue as they are, the dependency ratio by 2055 is projected to be just two working-age people for every one retiree, putting Việt Nam on a path similar to countries with the world’s oldest populations, like Japan and South Korea.
Pensions for Workers
Under the 2024 Social Insurance Law, companies in Việt Nam must pay social insurance (SI) and health insurance (HI) for their employees, which cover pensions, healthcare, unemployment, and other benefits. However, the reality for many private-sector workers is that loopholes in this system directly reduce their future retirement income.
Employers often use cost-saving tactics, such as paying SI contributions based on regional minimum wages instead of an employee’s actual, higher salary. Another widespread practice is to split wages into multiple categories—offering a low base salary that is subject to SI and then topping it up with allowances, bonuses, or overtime payments that are not. Both methods artificially lower the official income on which contributions are calculated, diminishing an employee’s future benefits.
Furthermore, a large segment of the workforce is entirely left out of the system. Informal workers, such as those in small, family-run businesses, often lack the formal labor contracts required to qualify for mandatory social insurance.
This situation stands in stark contrast to that of civil servants and public employees. Their SI contributions are more stable, based on official ranks and positions. This structure, especially when combined with long service, typically leads to significantly higher and more reliable pension payments.
Pensions for Civil Servants
Việt Nam’s government aims for approximately 100,000 civil servants to exit the system between 2025 and 2027 as part of its administrative streamlining campaign. This figure includes an expected 85,000 early retirements and 15,000 layoffs.
To encourage this exodus, the government offers generous severance packages that can sometimes reach billions of đồng per person. For example, on April 8, the Department of Home Affairs in Nghệ An province requested over 50 billion đồng to fund early retirement for just 34 individuals. These incentives are further bolstered by a 30% increase in the base salary for civil servants that took effect on July 1, 2024, making retirement packages significantly more attractive.
These policies have led to an immediate and massive spike in new retirees. According to Việt Nam Social Security, nearly 27,300 people began receiving pensions in the first four months of 2025 alone. This represents a staggering 95.5% year-on-year increase, driven almost entirely by the wave of early retirements from the public sector.
Pensions Insufficient for Healthcare
After retiring in 1990 from a 26-year career as a secondary school teacher, Mrs. Quân from Thái Bình Province now receives a pension of only about 3 million đồng per month, despite several adjustments over the years. “My pension is not enough to cover monthly expenses,” she says, noting that her children often have to discreetly give her money just to help her get by.
Her case is far from unique and reflects a widespread crisis among Việt Nam’s elderly. According to Trương Thị Ngọc Ánh, Vice President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee, the majority of seniors live in poverty or on low incomes, with around 70% relying on government subsidies. An estimated 20% of the elderly population falls below the official poverty line, lacking the savings or steady income needed for essentials like food and healthcare.
The financial pressure is especially intense in major cities. According to a report by Dân Trí newspaper, 75-year-old Nguyễn Thị Hồng from Hà Nội receives a pension of just over 4.1 million đồng after more than 30 years of retirement. Despite several raises, most of her pension goes directly to medication for her chronic illnesses. “It’s extremely difficult to live just on a pension,” she said.
The financial struggles of Việt Nam’s elderly are compounded by a severe and growing health crisis, with seniors spending an average of 14 years in ill health. According to the Vietnam Institute of Population, Health and Development, an estimated 62.3% of seniors have hypertension, but only 86.3% have access to healthcare. In addition, approximately 67% are in poor or very poor health, with each suffering from an average of three chronic conditions, such as hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, or dementia.
These health issues are a primary driver of poverty. Deputy Trần Khánh Thu of Thai Binh Province confirms that 20% of seniors are officially classified as poor due to insufficient savings to cover rising healthcare costs. The problem is projected to worsen significantly, with the number of seniors needing daily assistance expected to rise 2.5 times from the current four million by 2049.
To mitigate this, the state budget allocates around 28 trillion đồng annually for social subsidies and Health Insurance (HI) cards for vulnerable groups. Currently, 95% of seniors hold an HI card, and 1.87 million receive direct monthly support payments.
The New Pension Formula
The 2024 Social Insurance Law, set to take effect on July 1, 2025, introduces a new, detailed formula for calculating monthly pension rates:
For women, a 15-year contribution period yields a pension equal to 45% of their average salary base. Each additional year of contribution adds 2% to this rate, up to a maximum of 75% after 30 years of service.
For men, a 20-year contribution period yields a 45% pension. Each additional year adds 2%, reaching the 75% maximum after 35 years of service. (Men contributing between 15 and 20 years will receive a lower initial rate.)
