The Decree No. 143/2018/ND-CP prescribes that foreign employees working in Vietnam (as per clause 1 of Article 2) must participate in sickness, maternity and paternity insurance; occupational accident and disease insurance; retirement and survivorship insurance policies.
Social insurance intended for foreign employees in 2022
As provided in clause 1 of Article 13 in the Decree No. 143/2018/ND-CP SI contribution rates applied to foreigners participating in the aforesaid insurance policies are regulated as follows:
Foreign employees must make monthly contributions accounting for 8% of his/her monthly pay into the retirement and death benefit fund. Except for those mentioned above, they are not required to pay any other SI contributions.
In addition, as from January 1, 2022, employers must set aside the following percents of their monthly payroll to pay SI contributions for employees' benefits:
- 3% paid into the sickness, parental insurance fund;
- 0.5% paid into the occupational accident and disease insurance fund;
In case where an enterprise satisfies conditions for entitlement to lower insurance contributions than usual to the occupational accident and disease insurance fund as provided in Article 5 of the Decree No. 58/2020/ND-CP the contribution rate reduced to 0.3% may be permitted.
However, due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic and pursuant to the Resolution 68/NQ-CP dated July 1, 2021, enterprises are entitled to 0% of their payroll as a basis for paying social insurance contributions to the occupational accident and disease insurance fund in the next 12 months (from July 1, 2021 to the end of June 30, 2022) for employees qualified for application of occupational accident and occupational disease insurance policies (except officials, civil servants, public employees, people serving the people's armed forces, employees in the agencies of the Party, the State, administrative agencies, public non-business units receive wages and salaries from the state budget).
- 14% paid into the retirement and survivorship insurance fund as from January 1, 2022.
- In addition, employers must pay 3% of the monthly payroll as HI contributions for employees in accordance with Article 18 in the Decision No. 595/QD-BHXH.
Health insurance intended for foreign employees
Pursuant to Article 12 in the 2008 Law on Health Insurance (amended by clause 6 of Article 1 in the amended 2014 Law on Health Insurance), persons eligible to participate in health insurance policies are employees who work under indefinite employment contracts or employment contracts lasting for at least 3 months; employees who hold salaried executive positions in enterprises; officials, public servants and public employees (generally called employees).
The amended 2014 Law on Health Insurance does not make any difference in health insurance policies between Vietnamese and foreigners. Thus, foreign employees working in Vietnam are considered as persons required to participate in the health insurance scheme.
Also, Article 18 of the Decision 595/QD-BHXH prescribes the HI contribution percents as follows:
- Employers: 3% of monthly pay;
- Employees: 1.5% of monthly pay.
Therefore, by combining the aforesaid regulations, as from January 1, 2022, rates of contributions to insurance policies per a foreign employee are regulated as follows:
* From January 1, 2022 – June 30, 2022:
|
Payers
|
Rates of contribution to SI and HI schemes in 2022
|
|
Types of social insurance scheme
|
HI
|
Subtotal
|
|
Retirement and survivorship insurance fund
|
Sickness and parental insurance fund
|
Occupational accident and disease insurance fund
|
|
Employer
|
14%
|
3%
|
0%
|
3%
|
20.5%
|
|
Employee
|
8%
|
-
|
-
|
1.5%
|
9.5%
|
|
TOTAL
|
29.5%
|
|
SI contribution amount = Employee pay used as a basis for calculation of contribution payment x Contribution percent
|
* From July 1, 2022:
|
Payers
|
Rates of contribution to SI and HI schemes in 2022
|
|
Types of social insurance scheme
|
HI
|
Subtotal
|
|
Retirement – survivorship insurance fund
|
Sickness and parental insurance fund
|
Occupational accident and disease insurance fund
|
|
Employer
|
14%
|
3%
|
0.5%
|
3%
|
20.5%
|
|
Employee
|
8%
|
-
|
-
|
1.5%
|
9.5%
|
|
TOTAL
|
30%
|
Especially, if enterprises operating in sectors or industries with high risks of occupational accidents or diseases meet given conditions, submit applications for participation and receive approval of these applications from the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, they are entitled to a lower percent of contribution to the occupational accident and disease insurance fund which is 0.3%.
Are foreign employees entitled to temporary suspension from payment of SI contributions due to Covid-19?
According to Article 4 in the Decision No. 23/2021/QD-TTg foreign employees that are participating in SI in Vietnam are eligible for temporary suspension from payment of SI contributions to the retirement or survivorship insurance fund.
This means that this support policy does not discriminate against foreign employees or is in favour of Vietnamese workers.
However, the aforesaid SI policies are only applied to foreign employees working in Vietnam as from January 1, 2022 as provided in the Decree No. 143/2018/ND-CP.
Hence, in 2021, there is none of foreign employees entitled to the temporary suspension of SI contributions to the retirement and survivorship insurance fund.
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