Ms. Hanh (name changed), HR manager at a Korean-invested company in Binh Duong, asked DEDICA:
"One of our Korean engineers is about to resign and return home. He wants to know in advance how much he will receive as a lump-sum social insurance (BHXH) payout so he can plan his finances. He has contributed to social insurance for more than four years, across two companies in Vietnam. What information do I need to prepare to calculate this correctly, so I do not give him the wrong figure?"
DEDICA ADVISES To calculate the lump-sum social insurance payout accurately, you need four categories of information: the complete monthly salary history used as the social insurance contribution base across all employers (not just the last few years), the exact number of years and months contributed, including whether they fall before or after 2014, the annual cost-of-living adjustment coefficient for each contribution year, and the settlement status of the social insurance book at each company where the employee worked. Missing any of this data means the resulting figure is only an estimate, not the final amount the social insurance authority will actually pay. Below is a breakdown of each category, along with the documents you will need when filing.
Information you need to gather to calculate the correct amount
The most common misconception is thinking you only need the current salary and the number of years contributed to arrive at a figure. In fact, the law requires the average contribution-based salary to be calculated over the entire contribution period, not an average of the final few years as with some other benefits.
This means Ms. Hanh needs to gather the social insurance contribution salary for every single month, from the engineer's first month contributing at his previous company through his final month at the current one, rather than simply taking the most recent salary and extrapolating.
The second category is the exact number of years and months contributed, because the calculation formula differs depending on whether the contribution falls before or after 2014.
For someone who has only contributed in recent years, like Ms. Hanh's engineer, who started after 2014, the entire contribution period is calculated using the 2-month coefficient. But if the employee has a contribution period before 2014, the two periods must be split and each coefficient applied separately. Odd months also follow their own rule and cannot simply be dropped or rounded at will.
The third category, and the one most often overlooked, is the annual cost-of-living adjustment coefficient. The contribution-based salary for each past year is adjusted according to the consumer price index before the average is calculated, meaning the salary recorded in the contract for each year must be multiplied by a separate coefficient published annually by Vietnam Social Security, not used at face value. This coefficient changes and is updated every year, so you need to reference the coefficient table that applies to the year the claim is processed.
Finally, you need to know the settlement status of the social insurance book at each company the employee has worked for in Vietnam. If the engineer has two companies on record, the contribution period at the previous company must be settled by that company before it can be carried over to the current one. Without this step, the contribution period on record will be incomplete, and the preliminary calculation will come in lower than the actual amount.
Documents to prepare when filing the claim
Once you have all the data needed for the calculation, the official application filed with the social insurance authority is actually quite simple.
For foreign employees, eligibility is usually tied to the termination of the labor contract or work permit, so the application also needs to clearly document this point.
Once the application is complete and correct, the processing timeline is clearly set by law.
Conclusion
In short, for Ms. Hanh to accurately calculate the lump-sum social insurance payout for her Korean colleague, she needs to gather four categories of data before calculating: (1) the monthly social insurance contribution salary history at both companies; (2) the exact number of years and months contributed, and whether they fall before or after 2014; (3) the annual cost-of-living adjustment coefficient under the current coefficient table; and (4) the settlement status at the previous company. When filing the official application, only the social insurance book and the written request are needed, but the personal information must match the passport, and confirmation of the termination of the labor contract or work permit is required.
DEDICA Law Firm helps companies and foreign employees calculate the exact lump-sum social insurance amount based on actual salary and contribution data, while also checking the settlement status across multiple employers and preparing a complete application to get it right the first time. Contact DEDICA if you need a specific calculation for your company's or employee's case.
This content is for reference only; the actual amount depends on the application file, contribution history, and the adjustment coefficient applicable at the time of processing. Please consult a DEDICA lawyer for an accurate calculation of your specific case.
