Bringing social security policies closer to residents

Through direct consultations in residential areas, traditional markets and worker housing zones, as well as dialogue sessions with farmers and workers, Dong Nai Social Security is adopting flexible approaches to make social security policies more accessible to residents.

These efforts are helping expand insurance coverage and promote the humanitarian values underpinning these policies.

Taking advice directly to residents

For self-employed workers, market vendors, farmers and seasonal workers, voluntary social insurance and household-based health insurance are practical ways to protect their health and income and secure their livelihoods in old age. However, not everyone fully understands contribution rates, payment methods, eligibility requirements and long-term benefits. Concerns about affordability and contribution periods, along with the belief that insurance can wait while people remain healthy and financially stable, have kept some residents from enrolling proactively.

Dong Nai Social Security sets up a consultation booth at the Dong Nai Employment Service Center to answer workers’ questions about social insurance policies.

In response, Dong Nai Social Security is changing its communication methods to bring information closer to residents and grassroots communities, focusing on the issues that matter most to them. In addition to policy information sessions, social security officials work with local authorities, socio-political organizations and organizations supporting enrollment to visit residential areas, traditional markets, worker housing zones, household businesses, hospitals, remote areas and communities with large ethnic minority populations to provide information and advice.

Ho Thi Tu, Deputy Head of the Communications and Participant Support Division at Dong Nai Social Security, said residents at these outreach sessions receive detailed explanations of the benefits of voluntary social insurance, contribution rates and payment methods, government support policies, pension eligibility requirements, and health insurance coverage for medical examinations and treatment. Those seeking more detailed information receive direct guidance to help them choose an enrollment option suited to their circumstances and financial capacity.

Residents are also shown how to use VssID – Digital Social Security, VNeID and chip-based citizen identity cards to check information and complete insurance-related procedures.

Luong Minh Duy Thuan, a computer repair technician in Bien Hoa Ward, said: “After attending the information session, I was pleased to learn many useful things, including that people aged 15 and older can participate in voluntary social insurance, with monthly contributions starting at just VND 264,000.” Thuan said he planned to enroll and encourage his relatives and people around him to do the same. His goal is to make sufficient contributions and meet the age requirement to receive a pension in retirement, without having to depend on his children or grandchildren.

According to Tu, residents in remote areas ask many questions during outreach sessions, and social security officials take the time to answer them. On some occasions, the work has continued until midnight, but the team remains encouraged by the knowledge and useful information reaching the people who need it.

Working together to expand insurance coverage

Since the beginning of 2026, Dong Nai Social Security has worked with partner organizations to hold 335 conferences, public information sessions, consultations, dialogue meetings and training courses on social insurance and health insurance policies, with a combined attendance of 21,700. The coordinating partners have included commune- and ward-level People’s Committees, the Farmers’ Union, the Women’s Union, the Labor Federation, the Propaganda Department, the Dong Nai Youth Union and employers.

The social security sector has also worked with the postal service, organizations supporting enrollment and local authorities to organize 22 campaign launch events across the city. In addition, 84 community communication points have been established in densely populated areas and at application-receiving locations of the city’s Employment Service Center.

Communication efforts have been expanded through digital platforms and mass media. During the first nine months of 2026, the agency produced, edited and published 331 news items, articles, videos and infographics on Zalo, fan pages and websites. It also worked with press agencies to produce 179 news items, articles, reports and dedicated pages and columns. In-person outreach was reinforced with 874 banners and slogans along major roads and at social security offices.

Pham Minh Thanh, Director of Dong Nai Social Security, said expanding social insurance and health insurance coverage is not merely a professional task but also a political responsibility tied to achieving social security goals and improving people's well-being. Therefore, bringing policies closer to residents is not simply about increasing the number of conferences held or the number of people reached through information campaigns. More importantly, it is about helping residents properly understand their entitlements, gain confidence in the system and take the initiative to participate in social and health insurance schemes to protect themselves and their families, thereby contributing to building a sustainably developing community.

Since the beginning of 2026, Dong Nai Social Security has helped more than 42,000 residents register for and install the VssID – Digital Social Security application, bringing the total number of users across the city to more than 1.6 million.

Results for the first nine months of 2026 show that communication activities, mobilization drives and direct outreach efforts helped enroll nearly 5,300 new participants in voluntary social insurance and more than 57,800 in household-based health insurance across the city. This brought the total number of social and health insurance participants citywide to more than 4.2 million, reaching 96.9% of the target assigned by Vietnam Social Security.

Director Pham Minh Thanh said that, to successfully implement the special 500-day-and-night emulation campaign launched by the Dong Nai City Party Committee’s Executive Board, “Solidarity – Discipline – Efficiency – Breakthrough, building a civilized and modern Dong Nai,” as well as the campaign “Dong Nai Social Security’s 500 Days and Nights of Emulation to Fulfill Assigned Tasks with Excellence,” the sector would continue improving management effectiveness, strengthening administrative discipline, accelerating procedural reform and promoting digital transformation. It would also follow the principle of “clear personnel, clear tasks, clear timelines, clear responsibilities, clear authority and clear results,” using the satisfaction of residents and businesses as the measure of its performance.

By Hanh Dung – Translated by Mai Nga, Minho