Retirees can't retire now as pensions don't cover basic needs

[ASEAN NOW News]

We ex-pats living in SE Asia are always concerned that our pensions may not cover all our expenses.

 

Well, it seems we are not alone.

 

Recently it was reported in the local media that retirees in Vietnam say their monthly pensions are far below living costs and they are having to continue working to make ends meet.

 

Nguyen Thi Lan and her husband Tran Minh Chau are both 65. They live in Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Phu District.

 

In 2012, Lan retired after 26 years of paying social insurance. The next year, Chau retired after 20 years of paying social insurance.

 

Nguyen Thi Lan and her husband Tran Minh Chau at their house in Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Phu District, June 2022. Photo by VnExpress/An Phuong

 

As per existing law, contracted laborers must pay social insurance for 20 years to get a pension when they retire.

 

Before 2021, the retirement age was regulated at 55 for women and 60 for men. Starting last year, Vietnam has gradually increased the retirement age until it reaches 60 years for women by 2035 and 62 for men by 2028.

 

With Lan fulfilling all required conditions, she is eligible for the highest retirement pension level, which is 75 percent of the monthly salary that had been used to calculate her social insurance premiums when she was working.

 

Today, she gets a pension of VND1.8 million ($77.2) each month.

 

Lan said back when she was still a worker at the Hung Hau Agricultural JSC, it "was not easy" for her and other workers to know the salary level on which the social insurance premium was based.

 

"When receiving the decision on my retirement pension, I was shocked at how low it was," Lan said.

 

Her husband’s pension is even lower.

 

Though Chau had worked for 20 years, he retired at 56, four years sooner than regulated.

 

Because of that, he was offered a pension level of just 55 percent of his salary base – or VND1.3 million per month.

 

Through several adjustments in which the government decided to raise the retirement pension, Lan now receives VND2.8 million and the pension for Chau is VND2.1 million.

 

In Vietnam, those living in urban areas and earning less than VND2 million per month are considered poor.

 

HCMC's poverty line is VND3.8 million ($164).

 

However, the couple cannot get access any aid policy for the poor because they are classified as retirees with monthly pensions.

 

Ever since they retired, Chau has worked as a guard at stores while Lan has found a seasonal job at the Hung Hau Agricultural JSC. During the latest Covid-19 outbreak in HCMC last year, both lost their jobs and have stayed unemployed until now.

 

"All our bills, from utility to healthcare, and our daily spending are now dependent on the total pension of VND4.9 million," said Lan.

 

Nguyen Van Phai, 56, retired in 2017 from his position as a sanitation worker for District 6 Public Service Co. Ltd after an accident that left him with a broken leg.

 

He has a retirement pension of VND3.4 million per month after 21 years of paying social insurance.

With his wife working as a scrap vendor and son still a student, Phai and his wife struggle to make ends meet. These days, he works as a motorbike taxi driver.

 

It seems expat pensions are a lot more generous so maybe we should be thankful we don't have to survive on just US$77.00 a month!!!

 

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[Rhys]

The adaptations this couple has to make is astounding...all the best