Pension for Vietnamese women after 20 years of BHXH contributions may reach 3-4 million VND per month

Ms. Phuong Thuy has paid social insurance for 20 years, and the average salary used for BHXH contributions during the period was 5 million VND per month (because the early years were low, the average is dragged down). The pension calculation yields: for 20 years of contributions (female): 45% plus 5 × 2% = 55% of the average salary used as the basis for BHXH contributions, after which each additional year adds 2%, with a maximum of 75%. Monthly pension = 55% × 5,000,000 = 2,750,000 VND. Under current rules, if the pension is below the reference wage (equivalent to the base wage of 2.34 million), the government provides a top-up to reach that amount. If the calculated pension is higher, e.g., 8 million, it would be about 4.4 million VND per month. This remains very low relative to living costs. To compare, if someone has the same 20 years of contributions but an average contributing wage of 15 million, they would receive about 8.25 million VND per month — nearly double. The duration of contributions is the same, but the amount contributed determines the pension. Why are women particularly disadvantaged? There are factors that cause women to end up with lower retirement incomes than men even with the same years of contributions: (1) career interruptions for childbearing and family care; (2) focus on take-home pay rather than future pension; (3) working in low-wage or informal sectors. If a business contributes BHXH on the minimum regional wage rather than actual income, female workers suffer larger losses when claiming maternity benefits, and are particularly disadvantaged when calculating retirement pay. Three actions you should take today: 1) Check your actual BHXH contribution salary by opening the VSSID app or baohiemxahoi.gov.vn, log in with your ID number, and view the BHXH contribution history; you will see year by year, month by month, the contribution amount. If the contributions are much lower than the take-home pay, you have grounds to request adjustment from your company. If not possible, you can report to the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs or the BHXH hotline: 1900 9068. 2) Calculate your expected pension and confront the figure; Use the simple formula: benefit rate × the average salary used for BHXH contributions (average across all years contributed). For female workers, the benefit rate is 45% for 15 years, then add 2% per additional year, up to 75%. If the result is lower than expected, plan to supplement retirement income from other sources: savings, investment, life insurance with cash value, or rental real estate. 3) If self-employed or freelance, consider voluntary BHXH; The worker contributes 8% to the retirement and death fund of BHXH Vietnam when participating mandatorily, and a similar rate when contributing voluntarily. The minimum voluntary BHXH contribution is about 515,000 VND per month. You can choose higher contributions to increase the pension later. This is especially important for women running small businesses, providing services, or taking time off to raise children and not yet returning to the formal job market.