(Revised) Guidelines for Implementation of the Social Insurance Law

Article

Lao People's Democratic Republic
Peace, Independence, Democracy, Unity, Prosperity

Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare No. /ຮສສ

Vientiane Capital, Date ງ າ / 01 /23

Guideline (Amended)
on the Implementation of the Law on Social Security

Pursuant to the Law on Social Security (Amended), No. 54/ສພຊ, dated 27 March 2018;

Pursuant to the Decree on the Organization and Operation of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, No. 602/ນຍ, dated 14 October 2021;

Pursuant to the proposal letter of the National Social Security Organization, No. 0073/ອປຊ, dated 10 January 2023.

The Minister issues the following guideline:

Objective
This guideline is issued to elaborate and guide the implementation of the content of certain articles of the Law on Social Security (Amended), No. 54/NA, dated 27 June 2018, to be detailed and clear, and to serve as a reference for the continued implementation of this law nationwide.

. Further explanation of the content and provisions of certain articles

1. Articles 24 and 47 Conditions for receiving maternity benefits (new guidance)

- In case both husband and wife are insured persons, and during the period the wife is receiving maternity benefits, if the wife dies, the maternity benefit shall terminate. The husband shall not acquire the right to receive maternity benefits; in case of death before receiving maternity benefits, the funeral grant shall be received according to the husband's entitlement;

- In case a female insured person has been receiving benefits for a period and the child dies, she shall receive
If the child dies, the mother will continue to receive the maternity allowance in full according to the regulations;

- In case the spouse of the insured person becomes pregnant before or gives birth after the insured person's death, and the spouse is not an insured person herself, she will receive the maternity benefit under the husband's entitlement.

2. Articles 25 and 49 Calculation of maternity allowance (amended)
- For the monthly calculation of maternity allowance, for those with a benefit period of 105 days, payment shall be made in three installments, and the insurance period shall be counted as three months; for those with twins and a benefit period of 120 days, payment shall be made in four installments, and the insurance period shall be counted as four months; in case of late submission of documents, counting from the date of childbirth or discharge from hospital, the maternity allowance can be paid retroactively.
- Calculation of maternity leave allowance before childbirth, as stipulated in the Labor Law.

After childbirth, documents can be submitted to the National Social Security Organization to receive the said allowance, combining the pre- and post-natal leave periods, totaling 105 days or 120 days in case of twins;

- Determination of pregnancy period for childbirth allowance and maternity benefit, where the pregnancy period is specified in weeks according to medical certification, with four weeks counted as one month.

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A

3. Article XX (new) Conditions for receiving disability allowance (new provision)
Have contributed to the social security fund for at least twelve months within the last twenty-four months prior to receiving the said allowance, in case of other accidents or common diseases.
4. Article 390 and Article 54 Calculation of Monthly Disability Allowance (Amended)
- For the public sector, the disability allowance shall be calculated based on the last monthly salary; for the enterprise sector, it shall be calculated based on the average monthly salary of the relevant person over the last six months prior to the disability or prior to receiving sick leave allowance, multiplied by the latest percentage of disability allowance;
b Example: Mr. A has a monthly salary or average monthly salary of the last six months equal to 2,500,000 kip, and his disability is classified as second degree (70%).
If the person becomes disabled due to a labor accident or occupational disease, the monthly disability allowance for that person is: 2,500,000 kip × 70% = 1,750,000 kip/month.
If the person concerned is still working and has a salary, the disability allowance for the person concerned is equal to: 1,750,000 + 50% < 875,000 kip/month; and in case the person concerned retires, the disability allowance for the person concerned is equal to: 1,750,000 + 25% < 437,500 kip/month.

If the person concerned loses working capacity due to other accidents or common diseases, the monthly disability allowance for the person concerned is equal to: 2,500,000 kip; 70% + 80% < 1,400,000 kip/month; in case the person concerned is still working and has a salary, the disability allowance for the person concerned is equal to: 1,400,000 + 60% < 700,000 kip/month; and in case the person concerned retires, the disability allowance for the person concerned is equal to: 1,400,000 + 25% < 350,000 kip/month.
- In the case of a person who becomes entitled to receive a labor capacity loss allowance, the insured salary before receiving the sickness allowance shall be used as the basis for calculation; for those who have not received sickness allowance, the insured salary before the loss of labor capacity shall be used as the basis for calculation.

- An insured person who receives a monthly labor capacity loss allowance, which is not due to loss of an organ or permanent loss of labor capacity, approved under this law, must undergo a reassessment of the degree of labor capacity loss, divided into two times: the first reassessment must be done within two years after receiving the allowance, and then the final reassessment must be done within three years thereafter; if the reassessment is not carried out as specified,
The labor subsidy will be suspended until it is correctly assessed according to the regulations.

Article 35 Determination of the percentage of pension subsidy (introduction)

Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, Phase 4
For target For target For target For target
Before 1954 1955-1974 From 1975 onwards From 2018 onwards
Year | Percentage | Year | Percentage | Year | Percentage | Year | Percentage
20 | Pension but | 20 Pension | 20 years | 25 years | Pension | 20 years | 25 years | Pension
80% - | 75% - | 70% - | 60% -
100% | 90% | 85% | 75%
20 80 | 20 75 | 20 | 25 70 | 20 | 25 60
21 81 | 21 76 | 21 | 26 71 | 21 | 26 61
22 82 | 22 77 | 22 | 27 72 | 22 | 27 62
23 83 | 23 78 | 23 | 28 73 | 23 | 28 63
24 84 | 24 79 | 24 | 29 74 | 24 | 29 64
6. Article 89 and Article 6 Conditions for receiving death benefits

- A person who received family member benefits before the amended Social Security Law and subsequently dies shall be entitled to receive death benefits under the Social Security Law.
Amended, without distinction as to the period during which family member allowance was approved;

- In case the insured person who is the caregiver of a disabled person dies, the death allowance shall be received only from the insurance of the insured person or from the caregiver allowance, whichever applies;

2

- In case the insured person works and contributes to two or more enterprises, upon death, the death allowance shall be calculated by adding the insured salaries from the two enterprises, but shall not exceed the maximum insured salary ceiling for each period;

3

- In case the insured person dies, the spouse and children who are not receiving family member allowance shall not receive death allowance upon death.

7. Articles 40 and 68 Calculation of death allowance
1) Calculation of death benefit equals fifteen months of salary or average insurance premium of the past six months, starting from the last month's pension or disability benefit, based on years of service or insurance period according to the following table:

Years of service/Insurance period | Death benefit | Remarks |
1 month - 1 year equals 15 months due to occupational accident or disease
8 months - 1 year equals 15 months due to other accident or common disease
Over 1 year - 2 years equals 16 months ...

> < Persons with years of service/insurance period over 1 year to 6 years will
3 years equals 17 months ...
- . - increase by 1 month for each additional year.
6 years equals 20 months
7 years equals 20.5 months, from the 7th year onward, each additional year adds 0.5 months.

| 8 years, equals 21 months, for the excess years.

- 1 ggg ggg

Example 1: Mr. A has 25 years and 5 months of service or insurance period, and his average monthly salary or insurance base is 2,500,000 kip, the death benefit is calculated as follows:

Calculation of the number of months for the benefit

- Year 1 receives 15 months;

- Years 2 to 6 receive 5 months (2 to 6 > 5 years > 1 month > 5 months);

- Years 7 to 25 receive 9 months (7 to 25 > 19 years > 0.5 months > 9.5 months);

- Total: 25 years of service, the number of months for the benefit is 29.5 months, for the remaining fraction of a year (5 months)

is not included in the calculation.
Allowance calculation: 2,500,000 kip + 29.5 months < 78,750,000 kip.
Example 2: Mr. K has 1 year and 8 months of service or insurance period, and his average monthly salary or insurance premium for the last six months is 2,500,000 kip. The living allowance is calculated as follows:

b. Calculation of the number of months for allowance

- Year 1: receives 15 months;
- Year 2: receives 1 month (the remaining 8 months are converted to 1 year, thus considered as the second year of insurance);
- Therefore, the insurance period of 1 year and 8 months is converted to 2 years, and the number of months for allowance is 16 months;

Allowance calculation: 2,500,000 kip × 16 months = 40,000,000 kip.
2) Insured persons who are already receiving pensions from both the state sector and the enterprise sector, or who have previously voluntarily insured
Shall continue to receive. In case of death, the calculation of death benefits shall be according to the public sector, while for the enterprise sector, it shall be calculated as equivalent to 15 months of the last monthly pension of the person concerned.

8. Articles 41 and 64 Conditions for receiving family member allowance (new recommendation)

- Case of adopted children

If both parents are insured persons, in the same sector or different sectors, if one of them dies, orphans or adopted children shall receive family member allowance until the age of eighteen. For children who are disabled or mentally impaired from birth or from the period after birth up to eighteen years, who are unable to work or have no income, they shall receive family member allowance for life. In case both parents die, they may choose to receive the right of the father or mother with the higher insured salary;
- In the case where the spouse of the insured person is pregnant for six months or more before the insured person's death, the child born shall be entitled to receive family dependency benefits;

- After receiving family dependency benefits, the eligibility conditions must be reviewed every two years, whereby the recipient must appear before the social security organization with identification documents and a family status certificate as prescribed by the National Social Security Organization. If there is no confirmation or failure to meet with social security staff within the specified time, the family dependency benefits will be suspended until the family conditions are confirmed within six months, in which case retroactive payment will be made; if more than six months, no retroactive payment will be made.
From the month of re-certification of conditions onward: if information is found to be incorrect according to the conditions for family member allowance, it shall be considered as termination of such allowance.

B. Articles 42 and 65 (amended) Calculation of family member allowance (new introduction)
In the case of a state insured person's death, the calculation of family member allowance shall take the last month's salary of the deceased; for the enterprise sector, take the average of the last six months of insured salary. In the case of a retiree or a person with loss of working capacity who dies, both for the state and enterprise sectors, take the last month's salary of the deceased as the basis for calculating the family member allowance.

10. Article ... Conditions for receiving pension allowance (new introduction)
- If the insured person has made continuous contributions or has missed contributions for no more than one year, and has reached the age of 52 (for women) and 57 (for men) or older, they may be considered for a pension;
- In case of missing contributions for more than one year, they must have reached the age of 55 (for women) and 60 (for men) or older to apply for a pension;
- Insured persons who have worked in the public sector or state enterprises and voluntary contributors, with their last workplace in that sector, shall receive a pension or lump-sum allowance from that sector, unless the relevant department or the department where the person was last assigned before transferring to the state enterprise has issued an agreement to accept back or issued an agreement to provide.
Receiving pension benefits shall be approved for receiving pension benefits in the state sector;

- For insured persons who are Lao nationals eligible to receive a lump sum benefit, they must have reached the age of 60 years, both female and male, whose insurance period does not meet the conditions for pension benefits, but must have an insurance period of twelve months or more; if such benefit has been received, it shall be considered the end of the insurance period;
- For insured persons who are foreigners eligible to receive a lump sum benefit, they are those who have terminated their labor contract, returned to their country, and have an insurance period of twelve months or more. If such benefit has been received, it shall be considered the end of the insurance period.

1. Article 59 Calculation of pension benefits (amended)
1) Calculation of pension points:
Total pension points are the pension points from all contributions plus the pension points from temporary suspension of contributions plus the policy pension points, with each type of pension point calculated as follows:
- Pension points from contributions are the average insured amount of the person in each year divided by the average insured amount of all insured persons in the same period;
Example: Ms. S has an average annual insured amount of 3,000,000 kip, and the average insured amount of all insured persons is 2,350,000 kip, then the pension points for that year are:
< 3,000,000 kip : 2,350,000 kip > 1,277 points/year.
- Pension points from temporary suspension of contributions during receipt of sickness allowance or maternity leave
It is the pension points from the average contribution salary over the past twenty-four months, before receiving the allowance, calculated as thirty days multiplied by the number of leave days for allowance;
Example: Ms. S has pension points of 2.554 over twenty-four months, with forty-five sick leave days
Calculation: [(2.554 ÷ 24) ÷ 30] × 45 = 0.160 points.
- Policy pension points are points calculated for those who start social insurance at an age exceeding thirty years, calculated as 0.8 points multiplied by the number of years exceeding that age, such policy pension points shall not exceed 12 points. For those who were previously civil servants and only joined enterprise social insurance after reaching thirty years of age, they shall not receive these policy pension points.
Example: Ms. S was 40 years old at the time of starting insurance, the pension policy score is calculated as follows: (40 years - 30 years) × 0.8 points = 8 points.
2) Average estimated insured salary

The average insured salary of the insured person in a year is obtained by summing the insured salary of that person in each month of that year and dividing by twelve; for those who contribute combined salary to multiple enterprise units at the same time, the combined salary from various sources shall be added together, but the maximum shall not exceed the insured salary ceiling for each period, to serve as a basis for calculating allowances;
The average estimated insured salary of all insured persons is the total average insured salary in the period from the last six months to the first six months, plus the inflation rate, compared to the twelve-month period.
For the month prior to that, for years in which the maximum insured salary ceiling has been adjusted, or the inflation rate of the average insured salary has significantly decreased or increased compared to the previous period, a separate calculation method will be applied to approximate the actual average salary during that period, so as not to affect the insured persons and the fund.
8) Calculation of pension benefits:
Multiply the total pension points of the insured person by the estimated average insured salary of all insured persons, then multiply by the index of two percent (2%).
Example: Ms. S has 20 years of service. If her annual pension points are 1.277 points, her total pension points from combined contributions are: 1277 + 20 years < 25,540 points, and the total pension points are: 25.540 + 0.160 + 8 > 33,700 points;
Pension equals: 33,700 points + 2,350,000 kip + 2% > 1,583,900 kip/month.
4) Determination of pension subsidy ceiling

- If the pension subsidy is lower than the minimum wage of the enterprise sector, the actual calculated pension subsidy shall be used as the basis for disbursement to the relevant person, without comparing it to the maximum pension ceiling of 75% of the average insured salary over the last twenty-four months:

- If the calculated pension is higher than the minimum wage of the enterprise sector, but the 75% ceiling (of the average insured salary over the last twenty-four months) is lower than the minimum wage, then the minimum wage shall be used as the reference for payment;

- If the pension subsidy is higher than the minimum wage of the enterprise sector, it shall not exceed
Seventy-five percent (75%) of the average insured salary over the last twenty-four months of the person concerned before applying for a pension;

- Such comparison shall be performed only at the time of initial approval or adjustment of the pension each year, and shall not be re-compared.

That is all, for

12. Article 66 (amended) Conditions for receiving unemployment benefits (introduction)

# Conditions for receiving unemployment benefits are as follows:

Has contributed to the social security fund for twelve months or more within the twenty-four months prior to leaving work; for those who have previously received unemployment benefits, they must accumulate an additional twelve months or more of contributions before they can receive unemployment benefits again;
2) Unemployed due to the bankruptcy of the labor unit, cessation of operations, or permanent termination of development assistance projects;

3) Unemployed due to temporary suspension of operations caused by the impact of disasters;

4) Unemployed due to the need to reduce the number of workers or mobilization to leave work because of a financial crisis, with certification from relevant parties;

5) In good health and able to re-enter the labor market;

6) Unemployed for thirty days or more, with certification from the Department of Employment of the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, the Provincial Labor and Social Welfare Department, or the Capital;

- The insured person who leaves work must register as unemployed within thirty days from the date of leaving work in order to be eligible to apply for unemployment benefits according to the conditions, after registration.
Must be at least thirty days to receive an unemployment certificate from the relevant authority;

- For insured persons who have previously received unemployment benefits but are still unable to find work within thirty days, the next application for unemployment benefits must be accompanied by a continuous monthly unemployment certification from the relevant authority, and the documents must be submitted within 45 days from the date of the previous unemployment benefit receipt; if this deadline is exceeded, it is considered the termination of unemployment benefits.

Conditions for not receiving unemployment benefits are as follows:

1) Seasonal work or product-based work;
2) Violation of labor contract or internal regulations of the employer;
3) Voluntary resignation for various reasons;
4) During the vacation period of teachers in private schools;
4) Persons who are in the period of receiving social insurance benefits and those who meet the conditions for receiving pension benefits;

Termination of labor contract between employee and employer.

Documents required for applying for unemployment benefits:

1) A correct certificate of termination of employment from the relevant labor unit;

2) Labor contract;

3) Collective dismissal notice with signature of the employer (copy);

If the dismissal is due to mobilization, there must be an agreement, resolution, notification, or report of the employer, or a certification document from the relevant authority to which the labor unit is subordinate, attached additionally;

4) Individual dismissal certificate with signature of the employer (original);

5) Other documents specified in the unemployment benefit application form.
13. Article 75 Joint Contribution (Amended)
1) An insured person who has made joint contributions in both the public sector and the private sector at the same time shall act as follows:

Continue making joint contributions in the public sector and stop making joint contributions in the private sector. The joint contributions already made shall be retained in the social security fund until reaching retirement age or death, at which time the joint contributions shall be returned, except for the health care assistance fund;
- For those who cannot stop making joint contributions due to the salary payment system of the private enterprise, they shall continue making joint contributions to accumulate until the time of receiving a pension or death, at which time the joint contributions shall be returned, except for the health care assistance fund;
2) For workers in an employing unit whose salary is between the minimum wage set by the government and the maximum social insurance salary ceiling, the actual salary received shall be used as the basis for calculating the contribution; in case the worker's salary falls below the minimum wage due to part-time work because of new employment, termination, illness, or maternity leave, it may still be used as the basis for calculating the contribution, but not less than 25% of the minimum wage announced by the government for each period; if it falls below, it shall not be counted as an insurance period and shall not be included in the calculation of various allowances; the accumulated contribution shall be saved for calculating pension points; in case any employing unit fails to remit contributions for more than six months, all insured persons in the
If such worker will be suspended from the right to receive various types of social security benefits temporarily, until all overdue monthly contributions are fully paid, then the right will be restored according to the conditions specified for each benefit.

Voluntary contributor's contributions
- Social security contributions must be made regularly at the end of each month, no later than the 15th of the following month;
- Contributions can be made in advance but not exceeding the contract term, and can be deposited into the bank account of the National Social Security Organization or paid at the social security office at each administrative level; if paid in cash, the maximum amount shall not exceed five million kip;
- Contributions can be delayed for no more than three months; if exceeding such period, the system will suspend the right to benefits.
Various allowances shall be retained temporarily until the arrears of monthly payments are fully made, then the right to receive allowances arises as per the regulations;
- Voluntary insured persons who have paid the lump-sum contribution, and at the same time the person becomes entitled to receive allowances

For disability or retirement pension, the lump-sum contribution paid shall be refunded to the person, except

for the lump-sum contribution for the health treatment fund; if the person wishes to continue voluntary insurance,

they must stop receiving such allowances and submit a written request;
- Voluntary insured persons receiving maternity allowance shall suspend the payment of lump-sum contribution for three months,

in case of twins, suspend for four months; for those receiving sickness allowance, if any
Sick leave days certified by a doctor exceeding 15 days may result in suspension of contribution payments for that month:

- Voluntary insured persons who have arrears in contribution payments according to the contract must pay the arrears in full for the months in default, but if the period of back payment exceeds six months, it will not be considered as a condition for receiving maternity benefits that occurred before such back payment;

- Voluntary insured persons, when applying for a pension, if there are arrears in contribution payments, must pay in full before calculation and disbursement can proceed;

- Voluntary insured persons who are still performing the contract, if they meet the conditions for receiving a pension, can apply for the pension immediately without waiting for the contract to expire, but if they intend to continue making contributions until reaching the age limit.
A contract or continuation of multiple contracts is also acceptable;
- Voluntary insured persons who are currently performing the contract but have reached the age of 52 for women and 57 for men, with years of pension contributions, if they intend to apply for early retirement, must complete the contract first before being eligible to apply for early retirement;
- For voluntary insured persons who have paid contributions in advance, if the right to sickness allowance or maternity allowance arises, the said contributions will be deferred to the month following the completion of receiving such allowance; if the right to death benefit arises, the contributions paid in advance will be refunded, except for contributions to the health insurance fund; the portion of advance payments not yet recognized as contributions will be refunded in full at 9%.
14. Article 90 Social Insurance Registration (Amended)
It is the confirmation of membership in the social insurance system, which includes mandatory participation targets and voluntary participation targets as follows:

Mandatory participation target groups and conditions include:
- Organizations of the Party, State, Lao Front for National Construction, mass organizations, and social organizations;
- Civil servants, military personnel, police, retirees, disabled persons, and their family members;
- Various labor units, including state and private, operating in all sectors such as industry, agriculture, and services;
- Workers in any labor unit who have salaries or wages;
- Lao employees working at embassies, consulates, international organizations and non-governmental organizations based in the Lao PDR;
- Foreign workers who come to work in any labor unit, have salary or wages, and have a valid work permit;

In case of discovery of incorrect registration and contribution payment of foreigners without a valid work permit, and those who are receiving long-term benefits from the National Social Security Organization, who have already contributed to the social security fund, the National Social Security Organization will consider suspending their insured status and refund the contributions, except for contributions to the health care benefit fund.
2) Target groups and conditions for voluntary insurance
General Conditions of Voluntary Insurance

- The voluntary insured person must complete the form and sign binding agreements with the National Social Security Organization according to the administrative division where they reside or work;

- The signing of voluntary insurance agreements outside the locality can only be carried out upon appointment by the head of the National Social Security Organization;

- Those who apply to join the voluntary system, if they reside, live, or work in any province, shall sign the agreement in that province; if any person's household registration or ID card is not issued at their place of residence, they must have additional certification documents such as: residence certificate or rental contract;

- For monks, novices, clergy, nuns, and foreigners, they are not within the target group of voluntary insured persons;
- Loss of limb or disability before becoming a social security member shall not be considered a condition for entitlement to disability benefits under the social security system;

- Each voluntary insurance contract shall have a duration of twenty-four months; the contract shall terminate in the event the voluntary insured person receives long-term benefits, dies, or returns to being an insured person in the labor unit system.

- Voluntary insured persons who were previously social security members

- Insured persons who leave the labor unit system and the voluntary system and are over 60 years of age may continue to participate in the voluntary system, provided that the cumulative contribution suspension period does not exceed three months from the current month backward;

- Those who were previously social security members and have not yet found new employment or are working in a unit
Workers who are not yet members of social insurance or have not received any long-term allowance from the social insurance fund, in case of suspension of contribution payment or suspension of receiving social insurance allowance for more than three months, cannot make retroactive payment; payment shall be made from the current month onwards;

- Voluntary contributors whose contract has expired and the interval between contracts exceeds three months are not entitled to make retroactive contribution payment; a new contract shall be started from the current month onwards; for those who are in arrears with contribution payment, they must settle the old contract in full before starting a new contract from the current month onwards;

- Each time a contract is made, the person concerned must come in person, except in the case of contract renewal where there is no change in the insurance contribution level, another person may act as a representative to renew the contract: in case the insured person
Those who voluntarily reside abroad temporarily, after the contract expires but intend to request a contract renewal, shall wait for the relevant person to proceed with the renewal themselves, thus permission is granted to renew the contract;

Contract suspension

- For those who have previously insured, if the suspension period for premium payment does not exceed three months, counting from the current month, the contract may restart from the month the premium payment was suspended; for those with a suspension period exceeding three months, counting from the current month, the contract shall start from the current month onward;

- For those voluntarily continuing payment or renewing the contract, they may choose or change the insurance amount level, but shall not reduce or increase by fifty percent (50%) from the previously selected insurance amount level, and shall not reduce below the minimum insurance amount level specified for the voluntary insurance part.
10
- For those who leave a labor unit that has previously contributed to the consolidated fund, the selection of the insurance level shall be based on the average insurance contribution paid at the labor unit over the last six months as a reference for determining the insurance ceiling. The person concerned may choose an insurance level equal to the average amount calculated, or choose an insurance level lower than that average, but not lower than the minimum insurance level of the voluntary sector as prescribed.
- Voluntary insured person
- Individual business operators, self-employed persons in various fields such as agriculture, industry, trade and services, aged 14 to 60 years, in good health, able to work
Done, enter into the contract voluntarily and start paying contributions from the month the contract begins:
A voluntary insured person may choose an insurance amount not exceeding sixty percent (60%) of the maximum insurance amount determined for each period:

(
- General persons who do not have the status of employees in the labor category;

- In case of voluntary insurance contract for less than six months, if the insured dies from a disease that was being monitored and treated before entering into the voluntary insurance contract, and the insured intentionally concealed information, the contract shall be considered void and no social security benefits shall be provided; the contributions already paid shall not be refunded.
15. Article 92 Submission of documents for registration and issuance of social security cards
For labor units that have submitted complete social insurance registration documents, the National Social Security Organization must consider the registration and issue a registration certificate within one to two working days; for workers, registration and issuance of social insurance cards must be done within thirty days.

Voluntary participants who have completed the form and signed the contract shall be registered and issued social insurance cards immediately.

16. Article A3 Accumulation of insurance periods (amended)
1) The insurance period for each type of benefit shall count only the months in which contributions were made to the social insurance fund; for death benefits, if contributions have been made in full according to the conditions of that benefit, the short-term benefit period shall be added to the person concerned;
2) Determination of the insurance period for considering the conditions for any type of social security benefit: if the insurance period meets the insurance conditions for each relevant type of benefit, and when all years are combined, if there is a remainder of seven months or more, it shall be counted as one year;
8) Counting of the insurance period: the date of the event shall be taken as the reference point, with the 15th day of the month and thereafter counted as the insurance period for the entitlement to the benefit; if the event occurs before the 15th day of the month, it shall not be considered as the insurance period for that month;
4) Determination of the insurance period from the payment of contributions: it shall be counted as an insurance month only when the person concerned has paid contributions of not less than five percent of the minimum wage announced by the government for each period;
5) An insured person who has contributed to the social security fund, if they change their workplace or temporarily suspend contributions, can notify their social security card or personal history information to match their previous insurance record, according to the form prescribed by the National Social Security Organization, and can continue contributing to combine with the previous insurance period as the total insurance period;

6) An insured person who has contributed in multiple places, or who has transferred from a state organization to a labor unit, or from a labor unit or volunteer to a state organization, and has accumulated contributions, service years or insurance years, and has not yet received a lump-sum allowance, shall have their service years or insurance years combined.
Insured persons shall receive social security benefits only under the state sector or the enterprise sector, but the years of service or insurance years shall be combined as follows:

- For those who meet the conditions for pension benefits in the state sector, if they have an insurance period in the enterprise sector, the pension calculation shall add the insurance period during which contributions were paid in the enterprise sector as additional service years in the calculation under the state sector pension system;

- For those who meet the conditions for pension benefits in the enterprise sector and voluntary participants, if they have service years in the state sector, the pension calculation shall convert the service years in the state sector into pension points added to the person concerned, equivalent to 0.8 points per year under the policy points system, without setting a maximum point limit;
7) Determination of the insurance period from receiving sickness and maternity benefits: in a month, there must be at least fifteen days of benefit receipt to count as an insurance month for the insured person; if less than fifteen days, there must be supplementary contributions in that month to count as the insurance period;
8) After combining working years or insurance years, whether the right to receive benefits arises shall be based on the determination of the insurance period for each type of benefit, but the calculation of benefits shall only be according to the system to which the insured person last belonged;
9) In the case of insured persons who have already received pensions from two sectors, no changes shall be made; for those who apply to receive pensions from both sectors after the implementation of the Social Security Law, they shall receive
Consideration for granting pension benefits shall be based solely on the last sector to which the insured person belonged;
10) An insured person who meets the conditions but continues to work and contributes the amount shall have the pension increased by one percent (1%) per year of service and excess years, but not exceeding the maximum rate of pension benefits as prescribed.
17. Article 95 Consideration of Social Security Benefits (Amended)
Consideration of various types of social security benefits is fundamentally based on the conditions for each type of benefit as stipulated in the law and social security regulations; some types of benefits also require reference to relevant laws or legislation;
1) For an insured person who is pregnant for six months or more, if they give birth, miscarry, or have a stillbirth, in case there is no
Conditions for receiving maternity allowance or maternity subsidy: if the combined payment does not meet the conditions, consider paying sickness allowance to the person concerned according to the actual number of leave days certified by a doctor, but not exceeding thirty days; if health is still not strong, medical examination and certification are required to continue receiving sickness allowance;

2) The maximum period for receiving sickness allowance shall be determined by month, calendar year; if sick leave is fifteen days or more within a month, a temporary suspension of salary payment certificate from the employer is required;

3) Social security will calculate and pay sickness allowance according to the actual number of leave days stated in the medical certification document; in case of non-consecutive sick leave days and multiple sick leave certifications,
Within a thirty-day period, the said allowance can continue to be received, but if the interval exceeds thirty days, a new application form must be submitted to request sickness allowance;
4) The medical certificate to be used for requesting sickness allowance must be a certification from a state or private hospital, excluding clinics; certificates in foreign languages must be translated into Lao and certified by the employer or a translation company;
5) A person receiving any allowance from social security who dies during a month in which they are receiving another allowance with a duration of thirty days or more, the amount will be recovered by deducting from the death allowance according to the number of overlapping months;

b.

6) Cases where unemployment allowance is found to overlap with months of employment or months in which severance pay was provided
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Shall receive unemployment benefits for the corresponding number of months, and this shall be considered the end of receiving unemployment benefits;

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7) An insured person receiving sickness benefits due to permanent loss of external organs, after the end of treatment and with medical certification, may undergo classification and grading of disability according to regulations without waiting for the completion of each period of sickness benefits;

8) An insured person receiving sickness benefits due to a labor accident, occupational disease, other accident, or common disease, after receiving benefits for the first six months, if certified by a medical professional as unable to recover to normal condition, may undergo classification and grading of disability.
Workers, according to regulations, without waiting to receive sickness benefits, during the last three months;
9) An insured person who has never received sickness benefits, if they have a clear medical certificate regarding the permanent and irreversible loss of an organ, can undergo evaluation, classification, and grading of loss of work capacity to apply for loss of work capacity benefits according to regulations;
10) The consideration of social insurance benefits for an insured person who contributes to multiple labor units at the same time shall be implemented as follows:

- The calculation of sickness benefits, maternity benefits, death benefits, lump-sum benefits, loss of work capacity benefits, and family member benefits shall take the contributory wages from various sources and add them together.
but the maximum shall not exceed the insurance ceiling for each period, to serve as a basis for calculating such allowances;

- Consideration of long-term allowances, such as pension allowances, shall calculate pension points based on aggregation from various sources to accumulate for the person concerned. Comparison of the pension allowance ceiling shall add up the amounts from various sources, but the maximum shall not exceed the insurance ceiling for each period;

- Allowances for work accidents or occupational diseases, sickness allowances due to leave for treatment, rehabilitation, and loss of working capacity, the calculation of allowances shall be based solely on the wage base of the person at the time of the accident;

11 Consideration of age conditions for applicants for state pension allowances shall follow the regulations
For each relevant period, for government sector family member allowance applications, it shall be based on the year the event occurred; for the enterprise sector, it shall take the month and year of birth of the relevant person compared to the month and year of the application for the relevant allowance or the year the event occurred;

12) For government sector insured persons who have studied domestically or abroad, or who have been assigned to serve abroad, when any allowance arises, the salary of the last month before studying or serving abroad shall be used as the basis for calculation;

13) For voluntary insured persons who have signed a contract and have arrears in payment, when applying for any allowance, if it is found that the cumulative payment does not reach the month when the right arises, they must first pay the arrears up to that month before calculation and disbursement can be made.
14) Voluntary insured persons, if they become entitled to receive family member allowances, may continue as voluntary insured persons; for various types of social insurance benefits, entitlement shall arise according to the insurance of the person concerned, and no duplicate benefits shall be received;
15) The consideration and approval of pension allowances for the state sector, the state organizational machinery to which the person concerned belongs, shall issue a decision accepting the pension allowance, with content consistent with the notification of the Ministry of Interior, civil servant history, salary suspension certificate, salary calculation sheet, family register, identity card, and certified employee-civil servant information from the Ministry of Interior. In case the decision to accept the pension allowance and related supporting documents are inconsistent, they must be corrected by the relevant authorities before such allowance can be claimed;
For enterprises and voluntary contributors, the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare shall consider and approve the issuance of the decision. As for the calculation of pensions, it is assigned to the National Social Security Organization or the Provincial Social Security Office to implement:
16) In the case of pension recipients and persons with disability who have resided abroad for two years, a data verification must be conducted; if necessary, a certificate of life must be obtained from the consulate or embassy of the Lao PDR stationed in that country. If no certification is provided, the payment of the pension shall be suspended temporarily for a maximum of twelve months from the date of notification to the relevant family. During that period, if certification is provided,
For livelihood support, the allowance will be paid retroactively to the person concerned. In case the certification exceeds twelve months from the date of notification to the family, the months during which payment was suspended shall not be reimbursed, and payment shall be made from the month of certification onward;

- According to Article 17, if the insured person has consistently had a high insured salary but the last month is lower than normal, and that month is due to illness, childbirth, or the occurrence of an event, the month preceding the last month shall be used for calculation; however, if the last month is the month in which the eligibility conditions are met, it shall be included in the calculation;

If during the period used to calculate any type of allowance, the insured salary for a month is
Provincial and capital social security offices have the right to recover overpaid or erroneously paid amounts, fully returning them to the National Social Security Fund; if deemed appropriate, they must refer the matter to relevant parties for legal proceedings in accordance with the laws of the Lao PDR;

- In cases where any type of social security benefit has been overpaid to a deceased insured person due to delayed notification of death claim, the right exists to recover the overpaid amount by means of return or deduction from the death benefit of the insured person;

Implementation

Assign the National Social Security Organization, provincial and capital social security offices, district, municipality, and city social security centers to implement.
(b) All ministries, ministry-equivalent organizations, local administrations, employers, individuals, and legal entities shall acknowledge and cooperate in the implementation of the Law on Social Security (amended) and this guideline;

(8) The National Social Security Organization and other relevant parties shall organize dissemination, publicity, guidance, and monitoring of the implementation of the Law on Social Security (amended) and this guideline comprehensively;

(4) This guideline shall take effect from the date of signature and shall replace the guideline No. 1206/NSSO, dated 28 April 2019. Any subordinate legislation under the Law on Social Security that contradicts this guideline shall be nullified.