Over 700,000 employees have decided to receive a one-time social insurance payment in the first 10 months of this year.— Photo baotintuc.vn

HÀ NỘI — Over 700,000 employees decided to receive a one-time social insurance allowance in the first 10 months of this year.

The number is 5.45 per cent higher than the same period last year, according to data from the Việt Nam Social Security.

Việt Nam Social Security said that the reason for the increase of employees who decided to receive a one-time social insurance payment was due to the COVID-19-pandemic.

Phan Xuân H, living in Liên Chiểu District, Đà Nẵng, is a civil servant. He has had more than 20 years participating in compulsory social insurance.

Recently, due to the pandemic, he decided to receive a one-time social insurance allowance, worth about VNĐ30 million (US$1,300).

He said his wife was an employee of a tourism business in the city. She has had no income for nearly two years due to the pandemic.

Therefore, the four people in his family depended on his income, so it was very difficult, he said.

“I decide to receive the one-time social insurance allowance to cover daily expenses,” he added.

Nguyễn Thị Hoa, of Nha Trang in the coastal central of Khánh Hoà Province, said she decided to receive a one-time social insurance allowance to cover daily expenses after participating in compulsory social insurance for 15 years.

Hoa said her decision came after her income was sharply reduced because the company for which she worked suffered due to the pandemic.

However, Hoa said not long after getting the allowance, she fell ill. When Hoa was treated at a hospital she had to cover all medical expenses without payments from social insurance.

Hoa realised it was one of the issues after she received the allowance, Hoa wanted to re-join the compulsory social insurance but failed because the law on social insurance does not yet provide for this case.

According to the agency, employees who received the one-time social insurance allowance will not enjoy benefits from the social insurance fund that pays for sickness, maternity, occupational accident, occupational disease, retirement and death.

The agency said in reality, there were many labourers who wanted to re-join compulsory social insurance after they received the one-time social insurance allowance and realised the shortcomings. However, the law on social insurance does not cover these instances.

Therefore, labourers should consider carefully before deciding to receive a one-time social insurance payment, the agency said.

If a labourer is facing difficulties and cannot continue paying compulsory social insurance, he or she has the right of reservation and then continue to pay later to be eligible to receive a pension and be granted a health insurance card to help take care of their health in old age, according to the agency. — VNS