THE GOVERNMENT ---------	SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM Independence - Freedom - Happiness ----------
No. 190/2007/ND-CP	Hanoi, December 28, 2007

DECREE

GUIDING A NUMBER OF ARTICLES OF THE LAW ON SOCIAL INSURANCE REGARDING VOLUNTARY SOCIAL INSURANCE

THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government;

Pursuant to the June 29, 2006 Law on Social Insurance;

At the proposal of the Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs,

DECREES:

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. This Decree provides guidance on a number of articles of the Law on Social Insurance regarding applicable subjects; rights and responsibilities of parties engaged in voluntary social insurance; voluntary social insurance benefits; the voluntary social insurance fund; procedures for implementing voluntary social insurance; complaints and denunciations related to voluntary social insurance and state management of voluntary social insurance.

Article 2. Participants in voluntary social insurance prescribed in this Decree are Vietnamese citizens of working age and not governed by the law on compulsory social insurance, including:

1. Laborers working under labor contracts of a term of under 3 months.

2. Commune-level part-time cadres.

3. Persons engaged in production, business and service activities, including non-salaried members of cooperatives and unions of cooperatives.

4. Self-employed laborers.

5. Laborers working overseas for a given period who have not yet participated in compulsory social insurance or have received lump-sum social insurance benefit.

6. Other participants.

Persons defined in this Article are below generally referred to as participants in voluntary social insurance.

Article 3. Voluntary social insurance benefits

Voluntary social insurance benefits prescribed in this Decree include:

1. Retirement pension.

2. Survivorship allowance.

Article 4. Principles for voluntary social insurance under Article 5 of the Law on Social Insurance

1. Voluntary social insurance is based on participants voluntariness. Participants in voluntary social insurance may select levels of premium to pay and modes of payment suitable to their income.

2. The level of voluntary social insurance premium is calculated on the basis of the monthly income on which social insurance premiums are based but must be neither lower than the common minimum salary nor higher than 20 times the common minimum salary.

3. The level of voluntary social insurance benefit is calculated on the basis of the level and period of paying social insurance premiums and shared among participants in voluntary social insurance.

4. A person who has both a period of paying compulsory social insurance premiums and a period of paying voluntary social insurance premiums is entitled to retirement and survivorship benefits based on the total of the periods of payment of compulsory and voluntary social insurance premiums.

5. The voluntary social insurance fund is managed in a unified, democratic, public and transparent manner; and is used for proper purposes and independently cost-accounted.

6. Implementation of voluntary social insurance must be simple, convenient, timely and thorough.

Article 5. Responsibilities of state management of voluntary social insurance under Clause 2, Article 8 of the Law on Social Insurance

1. The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs is responsible to the Government for performing the state management of voluntary social insurance as follows:

a/ Assuming the prime responsibility for, and coordinating with ministries, agencies and organizations in studying, drafting, and submitting to competent state agencies for promulgation, or promulgating according to its competence legal documents on voluntary social insurance;

b/ Assuming the prime responsibility for, and coordinating with ministries, branches and Peoples Committees of provinces and centrally run cities in, conducting statistics and information work; propagating and disseminating information on voluntary social insurance benefits, policies and law;

c/ Supervising the implementation of legal provisions on voluntary social insurance;

d/ Performing the function of specialized inspection of voluntary social insurance;

e/ Promoting international cooperation in the domain of voluntary social insurance in accordance with law;

f/ Organizing training in voluntary social insurance.

2. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies and government-attached agencies shall coordinate with the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs in making laws and policies related to voluntary social insurance.

3. Peoples Committees of provinces and centrally run cities (below referred to as provincial-level Peoples Committees) shall perform the state management of voluntary social insurance in their respective localities. Provincial-level Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs shall assist provincial-level Peoples Committees in performing the function of state management of voluntary social insurance as follows:

a/ Supervising and initiating the implementation of the law on voluntary social insurance;

b/ Assuming the prime responsibility for, or coordinating with concerned agencies in, supervising and inspecting the implementation of voluntary social insurance benefits and policies;

c/ Proposing to provincial-level Peoples Committees for settlement matters related to voluntary social insurance falling within the latters competence;

d/ Annually, sending reports to the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs on the implementation of the law on voluntary social insurance.

Article 6. Prohibited acts under Article 14 of the Law on Social Insurance

1. Making false declaration and forging dossiers in the implementation of voluntary social insurance, including:

a/ Making false declaration or modifications or erasures to distort contents related to payment of voluntary social insurance premiums or enjoyment of voluntary social insurance benefits;

b/ Forging and inserting documents in dossiers for enjoyment of voluntary social insurance benefits.

2. Using the voluntary social insurance fund for wrong purposes or in violation of policies and regulations.

3. Troubling, obstructing or harming rights and lawful interests of participants in voluntary social insurance, including:

a/ Causing difficulties to, obstructing, and delaying the payment of voluntary social insurance premiums or enjoyment of voluntary social insurance benefits by participants in voluntary social insurance;

b/ Failing to issue social insurance books to participants in voluntary social insurance according to regulations.

4. Reporting untruthful information and supplying distorted information and data on voluntary social insurance.

Article 7. Rights and responsibilities of participants in voluntary social insurance under Articles 15 and 16 of the Law on Social Insurance

1. Participants in voluntary social insurance have the following rights:

a/ To be issued the social insurance book;

b/ To receive full retirement pensions or voluntary social insurance allowances in a timely and convenient manner under the provisions of this Decree;

c/ To enjoy health insurance while enjoying retirement pensions;

d/ To request social insurance organizations to provide information on payment of social insurance premiums, the right to enjoy social insurance benefits, and procedures for implementing social insurance;

e/ To file complaints and denunciations with competent state agencies or individuals when their lawful interests are infringed upon or when organizations or individuals implementing voluntary social insurance commit acts in violation of the law on voluntary social insurance;

f/ To authorize other persons to receive their retirement pensions and voluntary social insurance allowances.

2. Participants in voluntary social insurance have the following responsibilities:

a/ To pay voluntary social insurance premiums by the mode and at the level prescribed in Article 26 of this Decree;

b/ To comply with regulations on compilation of voluntary social insurance dossiers;

c/ To preserve the social insurance book according to regulations.

Article 8. Rights and responsibilities of social insurance organizations under Article 19 and Article 20 of the Law on Social Insurance

1. Social insurance organizations have the following rights:

a/ To organize personnel, financial and asset management in accordance with law;

b/ To decline requests for payment of voluntary social insurance benefits which are made not in accordance with law;

c/ To check the payment of voluntary social insurance premiums and benefits;

d/ To propose competent state agencies to formulate, amend and supplement regimes, policies and law concerning voluntary social insurance and management of the voluntary social insurance fund;

e/ To propose competent state agencies to handle violations of the law on voluntary social insurance;

f/ Other rights as prescribed by law.

2. Social insurance organizations have the following responsibilities:

a/ To propagate and disseminate information on regimes, policies and law concerning voluntary social insurance; provide guidance on professional matters and procedures for implementing voluntary social insurance;

b/ To organize the collection of social insurance premiums from participants in voluntary social insurance;

c/ To issue social insurance books to participants in voluntary social insurance;

d/ To receive dossiers of voluntary social insurance and settle social insurance benefits; to pay retirement pensions and voluntary social insurance benefits, and pay health insurance premiums for pensioners in full, conveniently and on time;

e/ To manage and preserve dossiers of participants in voluntary social insurance;

f/ To manage and use the voluntary social insurance fund according to legal provisions on finance, accounting and statistics;

g/ To take measures for preserving and developing the voluntary social insurance fund;

h/ Biannually, to report to the management council on the implementation of voluntary social insurance. Annually, to report to the Government, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Finance on the management and use of the voluntary social insurance fund;

i/ To provide sufficient and timely information on the payment of voluntary social insurance premiums, the right to enjoy voluntary social insurance benefits, and procedures for implementing voluntary social insurance at the request of participants in voluntary social insurance;

j/ To organize statistics and accounting work for voluntary social insurance; to supply relevant documents and information at the request of competent state agencies;

k/ To promptly settle complaints and denunciations related to the implementation of voluntary social insurance;

l/ To promote international cooperation in voluntary social insurance.