According to the Social Insurance Law of 2014, for employees contributing to social insurance under the wage regime decided by the employer, from January 1, 2018, onwards, the monthly wage for social insurance contributions includes the basic wage, wage allowances, and other supplements as stipulated by labor laws.

With this regulation, the average wage basis for compulsory social insurance contributions for employees currently stands at approximately VND 5.73 million per month, accounting for about 75% of the average income of salaried workers.

The Social Insurance Law of 2024 (effective from July 1, 2025) largely maintains the existing regulations regarding the wage basis for compulsory social insurance contributions for employees subject to the wage regime decided by the employer. However, it provides more specific guidelines, stating that the wage basis for social insurance contributions includes the monthly wage, comprising the basic wage, wage allowances, and other supplements, paid regularly and stably during each wage payment period.

The wage basis for social insurance contributions for employees should be at least equal to the reference level.

Specifically, point b, clause 1, Article 31 of the 2024 Law stipulates that for employees subject to the wage regime decided by the employer, the wage basis for compulsory social insurance contributions includes the monthly wage, comprising the wage according to the job or position, wage allowances, and other supplements agreed upon and paid regularly and stably during each wage payment period.

Recently, in the draft Decree providing detailed guidance on several articles of the Social Insurance Law regarding compulsory social insurance, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs (MOLISA) has proposed more detailed regulations on the wage basis for compulsory social insurance contributions for employees subject to the wage regime decided by the employer.

Accordingly, the wage basis for compulsory social insurance contributions as stipulated in point b, clause 1, Article 31 of the 2024 Law includes the monthly wage, comprising the wage according to the job or position, wage allowances, and other supplements, where:

– The wage according to the job or position is calculated based on the time (monthly) for the job or position according to the wage scale or wage table constructed by the employer as per Article 93 of the Labor Code and agreed upon in the labor contract.

– Wage allowances are intended to compensate for factors related to working conditions, the complex nature of the job, living conditions, and the attractiveness of the job, which may not have been fully considered or adequately reflected in the wage mentioned above. These allowances are agreed upon in the labor contract and are not dependent on or variable according to the employee’s labor productivity, work process, or job performance quality.

– Other supplements refer to additional amounts with specified values agreed upon in the labor contract and paid regularly and stably during each wage payment period. These do not include supplements that are dependent on or variable according to the employee’s labor productivity, work process, or job performance quality.

The wage basis for compulsory social insurance contributions should be at least equal to the reference level and must not exceed 20 times the reference level at the time of contribution.

In cases where the employee does not work and does not receive allowances for 14 or more working days in a month, both the employee and the employer are exempt from contributing to social insurance for that month.

In instances where the wage stipulated in the labor contract and the wage paid to the employee are in foreign currency, the wage basis for social insurance contributions shall be calculated in Vietnamese Dong, based on the foreign currency amount converted into Vietnamese Dong according to the average interbank foreign exchange market rate announced by the State Bank of Vietnam on January 2 for the first six months of the year and July 1 for the last six months. If this date falls on a bank holiday, the rate of the following working day, as announced by the State Bank, shall be applied.

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