PRINCIPLES FOR DETERMINING THE SALARY FOR SOCIAL INSURANCE CONTRIBUTIONS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAW
Social insurance ("SI") is a guarantee to replace or partially compensate the income of participants when their income is reduced or lost due to illness, maternity, occupational accidents, occupational diseases, retirement, or death, based on contributions to the SI fund or guaranteed by the state budget. The SI contribution amount is determined based on the income/salary of the participant. However, not all income/salary is used as the basis for SI contributions.
Index
1. Types, contribution levels, and rates of SI
2. Principles for determining social insurance contribution salary under the law
2.3. Salary serving as the basis for compulsory SI contributions for certain specific subjects
Currently, the 2024 Law on Social Insurance and related legal documents have relatively detailed provisions on the methods and principles for determining the income/salary used as the basis for SI contributions.
1. Types, contribution levels, and rates of SI
| Type | Voluntary SI | Compulsory SI |
|---|---|---|
| Concept | A type of SI organized by the State in which Vietnamese citizens voluntarily participate and can choose the contribution level and method suitable for their income. | A type of SI organized by the State in which employees ("EEs") and employers ("ERs") subject to compulsory SI must participate. |
| Contribution level | Calculated based on the income serving as the basis for voluntary SI contributions chosen by the participant (1) | Calculated based on the salary serving as the basis for compulsory SI contributions (2) |
| Contribution rate | 22% of the income serving as the basis for SI contributions into the retirement and survivorship fund | • 3% of the salary serving as the basis for SI contributions into the sickness and maternity fund; • 22% of the salary serving as the basis for SI contributions into the retirement and survivorship fund. |
(1) From July 1, 2026, the lowest income serving as the basis for voluntary SI contributions is 1,500,000 VND/month and the highest is 50,600,000 VND/month.
(2) The salary serving as the basis for compulsory SI contributions is determined according to Section 2 of this article.
(Legal Basis: Clauses 3 and 4 Article 3, Clause 2 Article 5, Article 7; Article 31 and Article 32 of the 2024 Law on Social Insurance; Article 3 of Decree 07/2021/ND-CP; Article 2 of Decree 351/2025/ND-CP and Article 5 of Decree 158/2025/ND-CP)
2. Principles for determining social insurance contribution salary under the law
From July 1, 2026, the lowest salary serving as the basis for compulsory SI contributions is 2,530,000 VND/month and the highest is 50,600,000 VND/month.
(Legal Basis: Article 7 of the 2024 Law on Social Insurance; Article 5 of Decree 158/2025/ND-CP and Clause 2 Article 3 of Decree 161/2026/ND-CP)
2.1. Salary serving as the basis for compulsory SI contributions for EEs subject to the State-prescribed salary regime
Pursuant to Point a, Clause 1, Article 31 of the 2024 Law on Social Insurance, the salary serving as the basis for compulsory SI contributions for EEs subject to the State-prescribed salary regime includes the following amounts:
- Monthly salary based on position, title, civil service grade, rank, or military rank;
- Allowances for positions, out-of-bracket seniority allowances, occupational seniority allowances, and reserved salary difference coefficients (if any).
2.2. Salary serving as the basis for compulsory SI contributions for EEs subject to the ER-decided salary regime
Pursuant to Point b, Clause 1, Article 31 of the 2024 Law on Social Insurance; Clause 1, Article 90 of the 2019 Labor Code, Clause 2, Article 89 of Decree 45/2020/ND-CP; Clause 5, Article 3 of Circular 10/2020/TT-BLDTBXH; Clause 1, Article 7 of Decree 158/2025/ND-CP and Official Dispatch 1198/CTL&BHXH-BHXH dated September 5, 2025, the salary serving as the basis for compulsory SI contributions for EEs subject to the ER-decided salary regime is the monthly salary, including:
a) Salary level based on job/title:
- Is the time-based salary level of the job/title according to the salary scale or payroll formulated by the ER.
- For EEs paid by piecework/contract, it is the time-based salary level used to determine the unit price of the product/contract.
- Must not be lower than the minimum wage.
Regional minimum wages from January 1, 2026
| Region (3) | Monthly minimum wage (Unit: VND/month) | Hourly minimum wage (Unit: VND/hour) |
|---|---|---|
| Region I | 5,310,000 | 25,500 |
| Region II | 4,730,000 | 22,700 |
| Region III | 4,140,000 | 20,000 |
| Region IV | 3,700,000 | 17,800 |
(3) The list of areas for Region I, Region II, Region III, and Region IV is specified in the Appendix issued with Decree 293/2025/ND-CP
(Legal Basis: Article 3 of Decree 293/2025/ND-CP)
b) Salary allowances: Salary allowances to compensate for working conditions, complexity of work, living conditions, and labor attraction levels that the salary level has not accounted for/not fully accounted for.
Example: Position allowance, responsibility allowance, seniority allowance.
c) Other additional amounts: Additional amounts whose specific values can be determined in the labor contract and are paid regularly in each pay period.
Note: The salary used as the basis for compulsory SI contributions does not include other regimes and benefits recorded as separate items in the labor contract, including but not limited to:
- Bonuses based on production and business results, and the EE's level of work completion;
- Initiative bonuses;
- Mid-shift meal allowances;
- Support allowances for gasoline, telephone, transportation, housing, babysitting, and raising small children;
- Support when an EE has a deceased relative;
- Support when an EE's relative gets married,
- EE birthday support;
- Allowances for EEs facing difficult circumstances due to occupational accidents or occupational diseases.
2.3. Salary serving as the basis for compulsory SI contributions for certain specific subjects
| Subject | Salary serving as the basis for SI contributions (Applicable from July 1, 2026) |
|---|---|
| • Non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the People's Army; • Non-commissioned officers and conscripts of the People's Public Security; • Cadets of the army, public security, and cryptography sectors who are studying and receiving living allowances; • Standing militia. | • First and second year(4): 5,060,000 VND/month; • Third year: 6,325,000 VND/month; • Fourth year: 7,590,000 VND/month; • Fifth year: 8,855,000 VND/month; • Sixth year onwards: 10,120,000 VND/month. (Legal Basis: Article 7 and Point c, Clause 1, Article 31 of the 2024 Law on Social Insurance; Article 6 of Decree 157/2025/ND-CP and Clause 2, Article 3 of Decree 161/2026/ND-CP) |
| Part-time workers at the commune, village, or residential group level | Equal to the monthly allowance but not lower than 2,530,000 VND/month. (Legal Basis: Article 7 and Point c, Clause 1, Article 31 of the 2024 Law on Social Insurance; Clause 3, Article 7 of Decree 158/2025/ND-CP and Clause 2, Article 3 of Decree 161/2026/ND-CP) |
| • EEs working abroad under contracts; • Business household heads of registered business households paying taxes under the declaration method. | Optional but lowest at 2,530,000 VND/month and highest at 50,600,000 VND/month (5) (Legal Basis: Article 7 and Point d, Clause 1, Article 31 of the 2024 Law on Social Insurance and Clause 2, Article 3 of Decree 161/2026/ND-CP) |
| • Enterprise managers; • Supervisors/Controllers; • Representatives of state capital; • Representatives of enterprise capital; • Board of Directors members of cooperatives or unions of cooperatives; • General Directors or Directors of cooperatives or unions of cooperatives; • Supervisory Board members of cooperatives or unions of cooperatives; • Other elected managerial titles of cooperatives or unions of cooperatives. | * Salaried Salary received in accordance with the law (Legal Basis: Clause 4, Article 7 of Decree 158/2025/ND-CP) * Unsalaried Optional but lowest at 2,530,000 VND/month and highest at 50,600,000 VND/month (5) (Legal Basis: Article 7 and Point d, Clause 1, Article 31 of the 2024 Law on Social Insurance and Clause 2, Article 3 of Decree 161/2026/ND-CP) |
(4) The first year is calculated from the time of enlistment, participation in public security conscription, military, public security, or cryptography cadets receiving living allowances, or participation in the Standing Militia.
(5) May re-select the salary serving as the basis for SI contributions after at least 12 (twelve) months of SI contributions according to the previously selected salary.
It can be seen that determining the salary serving as the basis for SI contributions depends not only on the actual income level of the SI participant but must also comply with the principles and limits prescribed by law for each subject group. Correctly determining the income and salary amounts serving as the basis for SI contributions is of great significance in ensuring the right to enjoy SI regimes, as well as minimizing legal risks arising during implementation.
In addition, the minimum and maximum limits of the income/salary serving as the basis for SI contributions for some subjects are also determined based on the poverty line in rural areas and/or the reference level (equal to the statutory pay rate) in accordance with the law. Therefore, relevant entities need to frequently update new regulations on the rural poverty line and the reference level to ensure the correct determination of the income/salary serving as the basis for SI contributions as prescribed.
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