Enhancing the effectiveness of compulsory social insurance regulations for household business owners in Viet Nam

Abstract

According to the Law on Social Insurance in 2024, the subjects of compulsory social insurance are expanded to include registered household business owners. The implementation roadmap is applied in two phases, detailed in Decree No. 158/2025/ND-CP. This study analyzes the current status of effective coverage and potential coverage of social insurance for household business owners according to demographic and employment factors. Using descriptive statistics based on the 2023 Labor Force Survey data, the study reveals that effective social insurance coverage for household business owners in Vietnam remains low and is primarily concentrated in the voluntary social insurance program. At the same time, there are significant differences in social insurance coverage according to demographic and employment characteristics. On that basis, the study recommends to complete the compulsory social insurance registration process for household business owners, clasify the registered household business owners according to the tax payment method, income level and age to monitor policy compliance and have appropriate propaganda measures.