Withdraw insurance once, lose twice

Ms. Nguyen Thi H., 42 years old, in Co Khuat village, Ba Son commune, used to work as a worker in Bac Giang (now Bac Ninh province) for 12 years. In 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she lost her job and decided to withdraw her social insurance payment in one go, earning more than 100 million VND to cover living expenses and pay off debts. At first, she thought this was a reasonable choice. But after only a few years, that amount of money ran out, she continued to do many freelance jobs but no longer had the opportunity to receive a pension. Ms. H. confided: Now that I think back, I realize that I lost more than I gained. If I had kept the payment period, I would only need to participate for a few more years to be eligible for a pension, and I wouldn't have to worry about having no income in old age.

In fact, on average, each year the whole province has over 9,000 people withdrawing their social insurance at once, most of them in the age group of 25 to 39. Leaving the social insurance system means losing the opportunity to have a stable income and many other benefits when retiring. To limit this situation, from 2024 to now, the provincial social insurance sector has implemented many measures: direct consultation at the one-stop department when employees complete withdrawal procedures; organize conferences, seminars; communicate through newspapers, radio, social networks... focusing on the new points of the 2024 Social Insurance Law so that people are aware of the benefits of maintaining participation in social insurance. At the same time, coordinate with competent agencies to manage labor fluctuations, promptly mobilize people who have quit their jobs to continue participating or switch to voluntary social insurance.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Tu, Deputy Director in charge of Huu Lung Social Insurance, informed: Huu Lung Social Insurance manages a densely populated area with a large number of workers from other provinces. Therefore, we have increased propaganda at businesses and directly propagated when workers come to submit their applications. Thanks to that, the number of people withdrawing social insurance at one time has tended to decrease. In the first 7 months of 2025, 760 people withdrew social insurance, a decrease of more than 40% compared to the same period in 2024.

Along with Huu Lung Social Insurance, other units have also strengthened propaganda measures, mobilizing workers not to withdraw one-time social insurance and guiding them to continue participating in voluntary social insurance. From 2024 to present, the whole province has organized more than 200 conferences to propagate and dialogue on social insurance policies with over 11,000 participants; distributed more than 1,000 leaflets, posted more than 2,000 news and articles on propaganda about the new points of the Social Insurance Law in 2024, including the content on one-time social insurance through mass media, zalo pages, Facebook of the provincial Social Insurance and the grassroots Social Insurance.

Ms. La Thi Thu Phuong, Head of the Department of Propaganda and Participant Support, Provincial Social Insurance, said: From July 1, 2025, the Law on Social Insurance (amended) 2024 will take effect, not only tightening the withdrawal conditions but also creating opportunities for employees to maintain long-term benefits. Accordingly, employees who have been out of work for 12 months and have not paid social insurance for 20 years can only withdraw in some special cases such as: settling abroad, suffering from life-threatening diseases, etc. At the same time, the law expands the policy of supporting voluntary social insurance contributions from the State budget for low-income groups, creating conditions for employees to maintain participation and be eligible for pensions. Therefore, we have been focusing on consulting and communicating so that people better understand the value of reserving social insurance participation time, thereby making the right decision.

Thanks to that, workers' awareness has been gradually improved, the number of people withdrawing social insurance one time recently has tended to decrease. Specifically, the number of people withdrawing social insurance one time in the province in 2023 was 9,733, in 2024 it decreased to 9,350 people and in the first 7 months of 2025 it was 3,804 people, a decrease of 411 people compared to the same period in 2024.

In the coming time, the provincial Social Insurance sector will continue to promote the State's new policies so that all people when they reach retirement age will have a pension and health insurance card to take care of their health, creating a solid foundation for social security in old age.