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The employer's guide to social insurance in Vietnam (2026)
Updated: 5 hours ago
If you're hiring your first employee in Vietnam, social insurance is the largest cost on top of salary. It is also the area where small setup mistakes compound fastest. This guide explains how the system works, who it covers, and what employers need to get right from day one.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
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What "social insurance" means in Vietnam
In Vietnam, "social insurance" is shorthand for three compulsory schemes that employers and employees fund together every month:
Social insurance (SI): sickness, maternity, retirement and survivors' benefits, plus occupational accident and disease insurance
Health insurance (HI): public medical coverage
Unemployment insurance (UI): income support and job assistance after a job ends
All three are calculated as a percentage of the employee's monthly insurable salary and paid to Vietnam Social Security, the state agency that administers them.
Legal basis: Social Insurance Law 2024, Art. 4.2 and 4.4 · Employment Law 2025, Art. 30 · Health Insurance Law (consolidated 2026), Art. 2.1
Who must participate
Employees who are Vietnamese citizens
For private-sector employers, compulsory coverage applies to:
Employees under a labor contract: indefinite-term, or fixed-term of one month or longer. This includes agreements under a different name that, in substance, involve paid work under the employer's management, direction and supervision.
Part-time employees in the group above whose monthly salary is at least the minimum insurable salary.
Enterprise managers: including directors, controllers and representatives of state or corporate capital, whether salaried or not.
Owners of registered household businesses, as specified by the Government.
Legal basis: Social Insurance Law 2024, Art. 2.1(a), (i), (l), (m), (n) · Labor Code 2019, Art. 13.1
Employees who are foreign citizens
Foreign employees are covered when they work under a fixed-term labor contract of 12 months or longer with an employer in Vietnam.
Exceptions:
Intra-company transferees
Employees who had already reached statutory retirement age when the contract was signed
Cases governed by an international treaty to which Vietnam is a party, such as a bilateral social security agreement
A valid work permit, or a work permit exemption, is a separate legal requirement for foreign employees to work in Vietnam.
Legal basis: Social Insurance Law 2024, Art. 2.2 · Labor Code 2019, Art. 151 · Decree 219/2025/ND-CP
Who is not covered
People already receiving a pension, social insurance benefits or monthly allowances
Domestic workers
Employees working under a separate probation contract
Part-time employees whose monthly salary is below the minimum insurable salary
Legal basis: Social Insurance Law 2024, Art. 2.7 · Decree 158/2025/ND-CP, Art. 3.5 · Employment Law 2025, Art. 31.2
A note on probation. Employees on a separate probation contract are outside compulsory social insurance. However, Article 168.3 of the Labor Code requires employers to pay employees who are not covered by compulsory SI, HI and UI an amount equal to the employer's contribution, together with their salary. Official guidance on how this applies to separate probation contracts has not been consistent. To stay on the safe side, many employers include the probation period in the labor contract, so coverage starts from day one, or pay the equivalent amount during probation.
Legal basis: Labor Code 2019, Art. 24 and 168.3 · Decree 158/2025/ND-CP, Art. 3.5
Official guidance: Ministry of Home Affairs response on probation contracts and compulsory social insurance (Government News, March 6, 2026)
Unemployment insurance: who participates
UI generally follows the same scope as SI: labor contracts of one month or longer, plus eligible part-time employees and salaried managers.
However, the Employment Law defines an "employee" as a Vietnamese citizen. As a result, foreign employees do not participate in UI. Employees on separate probation contracts and domestic workers are also excluded.
Legal basis: Employment Law 2025, Art. 2.1 and Art. 31
Employers
Any enterprise, cooperative, household business, foreign agency or international organization operating in Vietnam is covered as an employer. So is any other organization or individual that hires employees under labor contracts.
Legal basis: Social Insurance Law 2024, Art. 2.3 · Employment Law 2025, Art. 31.3
At a glance: Vietnamese vs. foreign employees
Vietnamese employee | Foreign employee | |
When coverage starts | Labor contract of 1 month or longer | Fixed-term labor contract of 12 months or longer |
Social insurance | Yes | Yes |
Health insurance | Yes | Yes |
Unemployment insurance | Yes | No |
Employer contribution | 21.5% | 20.5% |
Employee contribution | 10.5% | 9.5% |
How much is paid
Scheme | Vietnamese: Employer | Vietnamese: Employee | Foreign: Employer | Foreign: Employee | Legal basis |
Sickness and maternity benefits | 3% | – | 3% | – | SI Law 2024, Art. 34.1(a) |
Retirement and survivors' benefits | 14% | 8% | 14% | 8% | SI Law 2024, Art. 33.1(a) and 34.1(b) |
Occupational accident and disease insurance | 0.5%∗ | – | 0.5%∗ | – | Decree 58/2020/ND-CP, Art. 4.1 |
Health insurance | 3% | 1.5% | 3% | 1.5% | Decree 188/2025/ND-CP, Art. 6.1(a) |
Unemployment insurance | 1% | 1% | – | – | Employment Law 2025, Art. 33.1 |
Total | 21.5% | 10.5% | 20.5% | 9.5% |
Rates shown are standard rates and exclude the 2% trade union fee. ∗ Eligible employers in high-risk sectors may apply for a reduced occupational accident and disease rate of 0.3%.
Who pays what:
The employer's share is an additional cost on top of gross salary.
The employee's share is withheld from salary.
The employer remits both shares to Vietnam Social Security in a single monthly payment.
Trade union fee: Employers also pay a trade union fee of 2%, calculated on the same insurable salary fund. This applies even if the company has no union.
Legal basis: Trade Union Law 2024, Art. 29.1(b), as amended in 2025
What counts as insurable salary
This is where most errors happen. Insurable salary is not simply "base salary," and it is not everything you pay.
Included in insurable salary
The salary for the job or position, according to the employer's salary scale
Allowances agreed in the labor contract that compensate for working conditions, job complexity, living conditions or labor attraction. Common examples: position, responsibility, seniority, hazardous-work and regional allowances.
Other supplements that can be set as a specific amount and are paid regularly and consistently every pay period
Not included
Performance-linked pay: allowances and supplements that depend on or vary with productivity, work progress or work quality, including performance bonuses
Welfare benefits listed as separate items in the labor contract, when they are genuine benefits rather than salary paid under another name, such as:
Mid-shift meals
Fuel, phone and travel support
Housing support
Childcare and child-raising support
Support for weddings, funerals and birthdays
Hardship support after a workplace accident or occupational disease
Two practical rules
List excluded benefits as separate items in the labor contract. Do not fold them into salary.
Substance beats labels. If a fixed monthly payment is really salary but is called "support," inspectors can reclassify it. The employer then owes back contributions plus late interest.
A few allowances, such as hazardous-work allowance, can fall on either side depending on how they are structured. Decide this deliberately when you design your pay package.
Legal basis: Social Insurance Law 2024, Art. 31.1(b) · Decree 158/2025/ND-CP, Art. 7.1 · Circular 10/2020/TT-BLDTBXH, Art. 3.5 · Official Letter 1198/CTL&BHXH-BHXH (September 5, 2025) · Employment Law 2025, Art. 34.1(b) (same basis applies to UI)
Minimums and caps
Minimum
In practice, the floor for insurable salary is the regional minimum wage, which depends on where the employer operates. For roles requiring vocational training or qualifications, contractual salaries are typically set above this floor.
Region | Minimum monthly wage (from January 1, 2026) |
Region I | VND 5,310,000 |
Region II | VND 4,730,000 |
Region III | VND 4,140,000 |
Region IV | VND 3,700,000 |
Maximum
Insurable salary above these levels is not subject to contributions:
Scheme | Monthly cap | Basis |
SI and HI | VND 50,600,000 (from July 1, 2026) | 20 × the reference level, currently equal to the base salary of VND 2,530,000 |
UI | VND 106,200,000 in Region I (from January 1, 2026); lower in other regions | 20 × the regional minimum wage |
Because the SI/HI cap and the UI cap differ, senior hires can have different insurable salaries for each scheme.
Legal basis: Labor Code 2019, Art. 90.2 and 91 · Decree 293/2025/ND-CP, Art. 3 · Social Insurance Law 2024, Art. 31.1(đ) · Decree 161/2026/ND-CP · Employment Law 2025, Art. 34.2
Official guidance: Vietnam Social Security guidance on minimum insurable salary from January 1, 2026, and on contribution levels from July 1, 2026
Two worked examples
Example 1: mid-level hire in Ho Chi Minh City (Region I)
Salary: VND 30,000,000
Responsibility allowance: VND 3,000,000
Meal and phone support: VND 2,200,000, listed separately as benefits
Insurable salary: VND 33,000,000
Cost | Amount |
Employer insurance (21.5%) | VND 7,095,000 |
Employee insurance withheld (10.5%) | VND 3,465,000 |
Trade union fee (2%) | VND 660,000 |
Example 2: senior Vietnamese hire in Region I, salary VND 80,000,000
SI and HI are capped at VND 50.6 million. UI uses the full VND 80 million, because that is below the Region I UI cap.
Cost | Calculation | Amount |
Employer SI and HI | 20.5% × 50.6M | VND 10,373,000 |
Employer UI | 1% × 80M | VND 800,000 |
Employer total | VND 11,173,000 | |
Employee SI and HI | 9.5% × 50.6M | VND 4,807,000 |
Employee UI | 1% × 80M | VND 800,000 |
Employee total | VND 5,607,000 |
Figures are illustrative and use the standard 0.5% occupational accident and disease rate.
Employer obligations
The employer must:
Register each eligible employee with Vietnam Social Security within 30 days of the employee becoming subject to compulsory coverage.
Withhold the employee's share from salary each month.
Pay both shares by the last day of the following month.
Skip SI contributions for any month in which the employee receives no salary for 14 working days or more, unless the parties agree otherwise.
Confirm the employee's contribution record when employment ends.
Compensate the employee for any loss caused by failing to contribute, or contributing less than required. For UI, an employer that underpays must pay the employee an amount equal to the benefits they would have received.
Penalties: Late payment and contribution evasion carry interest of 0.03% per day on the unpaid amount, plus administrative fines. Evasion can also lead to criminal liability.
Legal basis: Social Insurance Law 2024, Art. 13, 28.1, 33.5, 34.3, 34.4, 40 and 41 · Employment Law 2025, Art. 33.4 and 33.7
How JHB helps
With JHB's Employer of Record service, you can employ a team in Vietnam without setting up an entity. We structure compliant labor contracts and pay packages, and we handle insurance registration and monthly payroll, so your costs are predictable from day one.
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References
Laws
Decrees, circulars and official letters
Official guidance from Vietnam Social Security
This article is for general information and reflects regulations as of October 2026. It is not legal advice. Rates and caps change periodically; confirm current figures before making payroll decisions.
