Social security support for the elderly in Hai Duong

Improve quality of life

Hai Duong is one of the localities facing rapid population aging. The province currently has about 373,000 elderly people, accounting for more than 18% of the population. The high proportion of elderly people poses many challenges to social security, especially the burden of physical and mental health care.

However, with the viewpoint that caring for and paying attention to the spiritual and material life of the elderly is the duty and responsibility of each family and the whole society, in recent times, authorities at all levels and organizations in Hai Duong have made joint efforts to care for the elderly. One of the most practical policies is that based on the decision of the Central Government, Hai Duong province has raised the social assistance standards for social protection beneficiaries.

This policy brings joy to beneficiaries of monthly allowances in Hai Duong in general, nearly 50,000 people aged 80 and over in particular, including many elderly people in difficult circumstances who mainly depend on this allowance.

In a small house in Zone 10, Tan Binh Ward (Hai Duong City), Mr. Vu Van Duyet (born in 1935) said that he is too old to do anything more. Each of his children has their own circumstances, and although he loves his father, they still face many difficulties. “The life of an elderly person like me is very frugal, just having vegetables to get through the day. Therefore, the increased subsidy is enough to help me buy food every day. When I can support myself, my children will feel more secure and I will also feel happy,” Mr. Duyet shared.

Mr. Nguyen Van Do (86 years old) in Hoa Nhue village, Tien Dong commune (Tu Ky) has been living with his wife for many years because their children are far away. Every day, they still work in the fields to make ends meet. Mr. Do said: “Next year, my wife will also receive subsidies, making our lives less difficult. Later, if her health declines and she cannot do farming, my wife and I can rely on the subsidies to have enough to eat frugally, and in old age, we do not need anything more luxurious.”

In the near future, the joy will spread to more elderly people because from July 2025, the Social Insurance Law 2024 will take effect, stipulating that the protection regime for the elderly will be converted into a social pension regime. The beneficiaries will be adjusted from 80 years old to 75 years old. In addition, people from 70 to under 75 years old from poor households or near-poor households who do not receive monthly pensions or social insurance benefits will also be eligible. The monthly social pension benefit level is regulated by the Government and allows provinces to proactively increase it, ensuring that it is not lower than the current level.

Enjoy old age

Along with the improved social allowance regime, in recent times, the elderly in Hai Duong have also received practical care in terms of spirit and health to enjoy old age. The Elderly Associations at all levels have coordinated with the health sector to organize periodic health check-ups and establish initial health monitoring books for the elderly according to regulations. Since the beginning of the year alone, the units have coordinated to organize eye examinations for about 30,000 elderly people, performed cataract surgery for more than 3,500 people; organized 28 training courses on health care and eye disease prevention for 668 officials of the Elderly Associations at district and commune levels in the province.

Currently, in addition to the number of elderly people aged 80 and over who are entitled to free health insurance according to regulations, Hai Duong has also paid attention to arranging funds to support people aged 77 to under 80 with 100% of the annual health insurance purchase amount, and support people aged 70 to under 77 with 70% of the annual health insurance purchase amount.

According to Mr. Luong Anh Te, Chairman of the Hai Duong Province Elderly Association, this is a very practical policy because the elderly need to pay attention to their health regularly, but many do not have enough money for medical check-ups, affecting their quality of life. Thanks to the health insurance card, the health and quality of life of many elderly people have been significantly improved.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Kien (born in 1938) in Binh Han Ward (Hai Duong City) has had free cataract surgery twice as a senior citizen. Because her house is near the hospital, she only needed her children and grandchildren to take her there on the same day. “Before, my eyes were very blurry, but after the cataract surgery, I can see much better. Now I can even thread a needle, I am so happy,” Ms. Kien said.

According to Mr. Te, the elderly are often very sensitive. They are very afraid of being abandoned and forgotten, so they often have an inferiority complex. Caring for the elderly is sometimes not much, but it brings great spiritual encouragement. Therefore, the support of the State, the attention of the province, associations, organizations... is very valuable to the elderly. "Recently, I went to the district to work, and I met the elderly very happily. They said that if they increased their allowance, they would have enough to eat. Because in the countryside, they raised chickens and grew vegetables, so the extra money to buy fish sauce, salt, oil, rice... was enough. When they are old, they no longer have to spend as much as before," Mr. Te said.

However, Mr. Te also believes that in order to eliminate inferiority complexes and create joy for the elderly, in addition to policy attention, in each family, children and grandchildren also need to take good care of their grandparents and parents. That is the core value for the elderly to live happily, healthily and usefully.