The Impacts of Benefits Perception and Risks Awareness on Participating In Voluntary Social Insurance - A Study on Informal Workers in Hanoi Area

Abstract

Voluntary social insurance is the type of social insurance that an employee voluntarily participates in, it is allowed the employee to choose the payment rate and method of payment in accordance with his/her income, based on the general regulations of the State. Accordingly, this is an additional form of compulsory social insurance in the context of not implementing compulsory social insurance for all employees. This is an opportunity for employees to have an additional means of ensuring their financial condition against risks and incidents in life. However, the actual results indicate that the number of voluntary social insurance participants has increased rapidly but is not commensurate with its potential. This study aims to examine the effects of perceptions of benefits and perceptions of risk on attitudes towards voluntary social insurance based on a survey conducted on 245 workers in the informal sectors in Hanoi. The research results show that, as expected and consistent with previous studies, the attitude towards participating in social insurance is actually influenced by the participants' perception of benefits and risks. Accordingly, it is necessary to focus on increasing these perceptions for employees as the solutions to change attitudes with voluntary social insurance. This will promote the intention and behavior of employees to participate in social insurance in the informal sector, thereby contribute to ensure social security.