Social Insurance Financial Policies of Some Countries in the World and Lessons for Vietnam

Changes and supplements in mechanisms, policies and laws in each period have directly affected the planning and implementation of social insurance financial policies.

Social insurance not only reflects the superiority of each State, but the State itself is also the largest employer in society. State policies and decisions directly affect management activities. Economic environment such as GDP, per capita income, prices, economic growth or crisis, minimum living standards, public services... These are factors that affect revenue and expenditure, balancing the Social Insurance Fund to ensure a stable life for workers.

Besides, there are also factors such as culture, lifestyle, tradition, level of awareness, etc. that affect the level of acceptance and agreement to implement of each individual in society. For example, in our country, there is a tradition of "the whole leaves cover the torn ones, the less torn leaves cover the more torn leaves " which is very suitable for the purpose of implementing social insurance, so everyone agrees to implement it. All of the above factors affect the content of the regulations in the financial management regulations of Vietnam Social Insurance.

* Subjective factors


Subjective factors affecting the planning and implementation of social insurance financial policies include the self-awareness of the participants, including employees and especially employers; the qualifications of the staff in the social insurance sector, working conditions, equipment for work, etc., also directly affect the social insurance financial policy. The higher the qualifications of the staff, the more complete and modern the technical facilities, the more favorable the social insurance financial policy and the more effective the implementation.

Institutional capacity to form and use financial resources is a factor that greatly affects social insurance financial policy. Institutional capacity to form and use financial resources is a combination of measures from building financial plans, to building processes, regimes, standards, financial norms, dividing responsibilities and coordinating implementation among organizations responsible for forming and using financial resources.

Finance for social security activities. Social insurance financial policies must create highly feasible solutions and ensure the main functions of the policy such as orientation, regulation, facilitation, encouragement of development investment and balancing of the social insurance fund.

2.3. SOCIAL INSURANCE FINANCIAL POLICIES OF SOME COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD AND LESSONS FOR VIETNAM

In the world, especially in countries with developed economies, social insurance activities have existed for a long time and are very diverse and rich. Below we will study the good experiences of social insurance financial policies of these countries.

2.3.1. Experience in policies to mobilize social insurance financial resources


Social insurance funds in countries around the world are generally formed from contributions from employees, employers and the State. However, the contribution rates of each subject in each country are not the same but depend on the circumstances, conditions, social policies and views of each country's government.

The employer's contribution is usually calculated based on the number of employees employed in the enterprise. This rate is calculated as a percentage of the total payroll and is regulated by law. The employer's contribution is accounted for in the business expenses of the enterprise. Employees must also contribute a portion as beneficiaries of the distribution of the social insurance fund. The employee's contribution to the social insurance fund in other countries is also determined as a percentage of the salary or wages they receive.

In addition to the contributions of employers and employees to the social insurance fund, the State also always supports the fund when the contributions of the two above subjects are not enough to meet the fund's expenditure or when there is a crisis that causes the fund to be in deficit. This intervention depends on the socio-economic situation of each country.

Of the three sources of contribution, the contribution from employees is the main source. However, the contribution rate in each country is different, those rates may be suitable in one country but may not be acceptable in another. The construction of

The contribution rates of each party depend on the socio-economic and historical conditions of each country, so the mechanism for forming and using the social insurance fund in each country is also different. Generally, in countries with developed economies such as Germany, France, the US, etc., the mechanism of collecting and spending is applied, with revenues in the year mainly spent within the year. In developing economies, the mechanism of creating an accumulation fund is generally applied, with the annual balance used for growth investment. Some typical countries can be considered as follows:

2.3.1.1. Experience in mobilizing social insurance financial resources in France

Since the 19th century, along with the development of public relief and mutual assistance, social insurance has been born. In 1910, there was a law on retirement for workers. In 1930, the law on social insurance was issued, this law stipulates 5 compulsory insurance regimes including insurance for illness, maternity, disability, old age and death. The fund's contribution source comes from employees and employers, in which employers contribute 4% and employees contribute 4% of the salary and this insurance regime only applies to employees with lower salaries than the regulations [68],[74].

Today, in France, social insurance schemes include all the schemes regulated by the ILO. The funding sources are very complex. Specifically:

a) Health insurance fund, maternity, disability, death.

Contributions to this fund are separated into two parts: contributions for non-occupational risks and contributions for occupational risks.

For occupational risks, the main source of funding is salary contributions, of which employees contribute 6.8% and employers contribute 12.8%.

For non-occupational risks such as work accidents, travel accidents (from home to work and vice versa), the contribution is collected on the salary paid in full by the employer, the contribution rate is determined depending on the number of employees in each enterprise.

b) Pension, widowhood and family allowance funds.

For pension benefits, employers must pay 9.8% and employees pay 6.55% of the employee's salary.

For widow benefits, employees must also contribute 0.1% of their salary.

For employee family allowance, the employer must contribute the entire amount at a rate of 5.4% of the employee's salary.

Thus, the revenue of the social insurance fund in France from employees and employers is relatively diverse and quite high. According to statistics, the average annual revenue of the social insurance fund in France from employers accounts for 51% of the total, while employees pay about 28.8%, the State 17.7% and from other sources is about 2.5%. The contribution rate of employees is also quite high, if calculating the total of the regimes that employees have to pay is 13.45% of monthly salary.

The high collection mechanism is a burden for employees and employers, but it is also a good condition for the social insurance system in France to become one of the best systems in the world.

We can refer to the revenue structure of the Social Insurance Fund in some countries with developed economies in Europe from the following table:

Table 2.1: Revenue structure of the Social Insurance Fund


Nation

Employer contribution (%)

Employee contribution (%)

State funding (%)

Other sources (%)

Virtue

40.1

19.8

26.3

3.8

Belgium

41.8

26.7

21.6

9.9

Denmark

6.9

5.1

87.6

6.4

Spain

52.9

17.3

27.8

2.0

France

51.0

28.8

17.7

2.5

Greece

48.1

27.4

15.7

8.8

Italy

50.5

15.9

30.6

3.0

Netherlands

19.9

41.7

22.6

15.8

Portugal

41.8

20.8

32.4

5.0

Older brother

26.1

15.8

42.8

15.3

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Social Insurance Financial Policies of Some Countries in the World and Lessons for Vietnam

(Source: Vietnam Social Security Scientific Research Center, 2014)

2.3.1.2. Experience in mobilizing social insurance financial resources in the US

Social insurance benefits in the United States include: retirement benefits, death benefits, medical benefits, and disability benefits. The funding for these benefits comes from the social welfare tax collected by the federal government. Of the wages of workers

The government will deduct a fixed amount of tax and then put this revenue into social insurance funds with a deduction rate of 13.65% for employers and 7.65% for employees. To receive benefits, social insurance contributors must pay up to a certain level. If a social insurance contributor pays 590 USD, he/she will receive 1 beneficiary point. Each person must have 40 points and pay for 10 years before retirement. Thus, the social insurance collection mechanism in the US is both based on the deduction rate and must collect up to a " threshold " set by the government. This rate is not as high as in France [68].

2.3.1.3. Experience in mobilizing social insurance financial resources in the Russian Federation


This is a former socialist country that has now become a capitalist country in Eastern Europe. The social insurance benefits in Russia [68] also include: benefits for sickness, work accidents, occupational diseases, maternity, retirement...

The source of the Social Insurance Fund is mainly funded from the following sources:

- Employee contribution is: 35.4% of total salary fund.

- Employee contribution is: 1% of salary.

- State: If the Social Insurance Fund is in deficit, the State Budget will support to ensure the payment of benefits.

2.3.1.4. Experience in mobilizing social insurance financial resources in some Asian countries

In Thailand, the social insurance benefits include: disability, sickness, maternity, loss of working capacity, death, old age, and unemployment benefits. The revenue of the social insurance fund comes from 1/3 of the employee's contribution, 1/3 of the employer's contribution, and 1/3 of the State's contribution. For example, in the unemployment benefit system, all employees contribute 5% of their salary, employers contribute 5% of the total salary fund, and the State contributes 5% of the total salary fund [74].

In Japan, contributions to the social insurance fund are also relatively high. Employees contribute from 3.5% to 4.6% of their wages, employers contribute from 25.5% to 30.5% of their wages, and the State subsidizes the social insurance fund according to the shortage needs [74].

In the Philippines, workers contribute 6.55% of their salary.

of their own, employers contribute from 7.35% and the State subsidizes the shortfall of the social insurance fund [74].

In addition to the main sources of revenue from contributions from employees, employers, and the State, social insurance funds of countries are also supplemented from other sources such as fund investment interest, fines for law violations, procedural fees, sales of publications, etc. However, the proportion of revenue from other sources is very low in the total revenue of the fund.

Thus, we can see that in countries around the world, although the Social Security Fund operates relatively independently, it is closely linked to the State budget.

2.3.2. Experience in policies on using social insurance financial resources


The Social Insurance Fund is used to pay the largest and most important social insurance regimes, often accounting for over 80% of the total expenditure of the fund. We will examine some social insurance regime payment mechanisms in some countries with developed market economies. The payment of these social insurance regimes is carried out according to the law in each country and depends on the scope of subsidies of each social insurance system.

2.3.2.1. Experience in using French social insurance financial resources

Formed in 1945 and until the end of the 1970s, the French Republic's social security model was still mainly applied according to the Bismark model, because during this period France achieved a sustainable growth rate, full employment, and an expanded social security network. At the end of the 20th century, social security for retirees began to receive much attention, which is clearly shown in the French social security fund law. Current French social security programs include: health insurance; pension insurance and old age benefits; work injury insurance; unemployment insurance; family allowances, and each of these programs has its own regulation law [68].

In which, the pension insurance level is 50% of average income (average of 10 years with highest income).

Regarding the level of sick leave benefit equivalent to a portion of salary (usually equal to

1/2 month salary), from the 31st day of sick leave onwards, the insured person is subsidized 2/3 month salary, the number of subsidized days is not more than 6 months. Subsidized medical examination and treatment costs according to the mechanism of subsidizing the entire cost of medical examination and part of the cost of treatment (30% of medical and surgical costs, from 0% to 60% of medicine costs, 40% of testing costs) according to the medical treatment voucher.

Regarding maternity benefits, in France, female employees are subsidized 100% of the cost of childbirth and medical expenses in the 4 months before giving birth. When giving birth, the insured person is subsidized 16 weeks of income (6 weeks before and 10 weeks after birth), if giving birth to twins, they are entitled to 26 weeks of subsidized leave (8 weeks before and 18 weeks after birth).

Regarding the regime for occupational accidents and diseases, workers who have accidents leading to disability are entitled to long-term benefits. If the insured person can still perform a livelihood activity, he/she will receive a benefit of 30% of the average salary (average of the 10 highest years' salary). If the insured person can no longer perform a livelihood activity, he/she will receive a benefit of 50% of the average salary.

2.3.2.2. Experience in using US social insurance financial resources

Social insurance is a part of the US Social Security. The group of social insurance programs is paid from social insurance funds contributed by employees, employers and self-employed people, they will receive insurance benefits when they meet the conditions such as old age, illness, disease, loss of working capacity... including retirement programs, health insurance and other employment insurance. The most beneficiaries of social insurance are the elderly (retirees) accounting for 63.15% of the total number of social insurance recipients [68].

The elderly in the US receive old-age benefits from the Social Security fund. For those who have worked, the old-age benefit is calculated based on the number of years of work and the salary in those years, similar to social insurance in Vietnam. The salary earner will deduct 6.2% of the salary and the salary payer will contribute another 6.2% of the salary to the Social Security fund (50%-50%). Many Americans plan their own retirement through a " 401 plan " because they cannot rely entirely on the Social Security fund. According to the " 401 plan ", each person decides for themselves how to

How much of your salary is deposited into a retirement account? The retirement account will be managed by a fund management company or a life insurance company to generate profits. The fund management company usually creates several investment funds with different levels of profit and risk for the account holder to choose according to his or her own preferences. The money deposited into the retirement fund will not be subject to income tax until it is withdrawn.

Regarding the level of sickness allowance, the sickness allowance due to occupational accidents and diseases is paid at 100% of the monthly salary. If the sickness is not due to occupational accidents or diseases, the allowance rate can be 100%, 80%, 60% or 50% depending on the number of years of work.

Regarding maternity benefits, female employees giving birth are entitled to 6 weeks of leave before giving birth with full pay, and 1 year of leave after giving birth with 50% to 60% of their salary.

2.3.2.3. Experience in using social insurance financial resources of Korea

Currently, the Korean social security system consists of 04 types of insurance managed separately by 02 ministries. The Ministry of Health is in charge of: National Pension Insurance, which started in 1988 with the purpose of ensuring income for workers past retirement age and Health Insurance, which started in 1977 with the purpose of providing health care for all people. The Ministry of Labor is in charge of: Occupational Accident Insurance, which started in 1964 with the purpose of compensating for occupational accidents and diseases and Employment Insurance, which started in 1995 with the basic purpose of unemployment benefits.

The National Pension Insurance is a social security system implemented by the Korean Government in which the government collects monthly contributions from insured workers and pays pension benefits to insured persons or their dependents when eligible. The eligibility for pension insurance is 60 years old (both men and women), with 20 years of social insurance contributions or more. A maximum of 33 years of social insurance contributions must be paid and from the 34th year no more contributions are required. The pension insurance benefit for employees is 50% of the average salary of the last 3 years for those who have paid for 20 years. From the 21st to the 33rd year of social insurance contributions, the pension increases.

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