The Hanoi People's Committee recently issued a directive establishing a process for paying pensions and social insurance benefits at beneficiaries' residences, specifically for those unable to meet signature verification requirements.

To implement this, the city has instructed the Public Administration Service Center to prioritize assisting beneficiaries in establishing power of attorney documents. Interdisciplinary Rapid Response Teams will continue operations to guide the receipt of applications and verify signatures at communal gathering points or at beneficiaries' homes. This service targets people with meritorious service, the elderly, vulnerable individuals, and those with health issues that restrict mobility.

The center will compile and transfer lists and power of attorney documents to the post office, which will then forward them to the Social Insurance Agency for updates and payments according to regulations. This aims to minimize repeated travel for beneficiaries.

For beneficiaries who have lost civil capacity or experience cognitive difficulties and cannot create a power of attorney, their caregivers or guardians may submit a request to receive benefits. This request requires confirmation from the local authority. The Social Insurance Agency will then process the application and disburse pensions and benefits to the beneficiary.

If a beneficiary has no living relatives, is without support, resides in a centralized care facility, and lacks cognitive capacity, the facility can submit a written request to the Social Insurance Agency. This request will ask for monthly pension and benefit payments to be transferred directly to the facility actively caring for and nurturing the beneficiary.

Elderly residents in Hanoi process power of attorney for pension collection at a centralized point, 6/2026. Photo: Thu Huong.

In cases where a beneficiary lives at their residence and their power of attorney document remains valid, with no desire to change the authorized recipient, the Social Insurance Agency will rely on lists confirmed by local authorities to maintain the validity of the verified document for payment.

If it is verified that a beneficiary does not reside in the local area or their status cannot be confirmed, the Social Insurance Agency will review lists confirmed by relevant units and consider temporarily suspending benefit payments.

The city People's Committee has assigned the Department of Justice to lead and report to the Ministry of Justice on guiding administrative procedures for signature verification in documents. This guidance will also apply to cases involving thumbprint verification, both with and without specific points, conducted outside of official offices.

Communes and wards will collaborate with the Public Administration Service Center, the Social Insurance Agency, and the post office to compile lists and provide home support for monthly pension and social insurance benefit recipients who are people with meritorious service, elderly individuals, vulnerable individuals, and those with health issues restricting mobility. Concurrently, communes and wards will review and verify beneficiaries' statuses, creating lists of beneficiary groups within their areas.

On 23/6, the Hanoi Party Committee directed the entire public administration service system to learn from experience and rectify its attitude towards serving citizens. This directive followed an incident where a public official required a 97-year-old pre-insurrection veteran to visit the ward office to complete power of attorney procedures for receiving her pension.

Power of attorney for receiving pensions and social insurance benefits allows a beneficiary to authorize another person to collect their monthly payment at a disbursement point when they are unable to do so themselves due to health, distance, or personal reasons. Current law stipulates that pension beneficiaries may authorize another person in writing to receive their benefits. A power of attorney document is valid for a maximum of 12 months from its establishment date and must be verified.

Vo Hai