"NSSF ‘Abandonment’ Policy Raises Alarm Over Lifetime Ban for Informal Workers", 4 December 2025

Concerns have mounted over lesser-known rules in Cambodia’s National Social Security Fund (NSSF), as self-employed workers and civil society groups say informal workers are at risk of losing healthcare benefits after going more than six months without paying into the scheme, a lapse the fund deems “voluntary abandonment.”

Under the NSSF, social security coverage such as healthcare, unemployment and pensions is provided to workers in the formal, private and public sector.

As of 2023, more than two million private-sector employees and about 400,000 public-sector workers were registered, though benefits remain limited and dependent on aid-reliant services such as the health sector.

The national fund is also limited, as more than 88% of Cambodian workers are informally employed.

A self-employed digital creator in Phnom Penh who asked not to be identified for privacy reasons, wrote … that she permanently lost access to her healthcare benefits after missing six months of payments into the NSSF’s voluntary contribution scheme for self-employed workers.

She said the policy seemed unreasonable, noting the NSSF told her she had “abandoned” her payments, which disqualified her from the voluntary scheme rather than allowing her to pay a fine or make back payments.

… Other workers have voiced similar concerns. Sovan Vary, a tuk-tuk driver in Phnom Penh, said she worries missing payments could result in a lifetime ban. Her monthly contribution is about 15,600 riel, roughly $4, nearly a day’s wage for many informal ride-hailing workers in the capital.

Vary said the NSSF program for informal workers helps ease healthcare expenses…

Khong Leakhena, who formally works at a bank in Phnom Penh, called for a penalty system that allows back payments instead of imposing a lifetime ban, stressing that public services should be simple and accessible to all workers.

“It would be good if the penalty were as low as possible for the number of months someone has to pay back before they can use the NSSF again,” she said.

Civil society groups have made similar calls. Vorn Pao, president of IDEA Cambodia, a global advocacy group supporting informal traders, said citizens who miss payments should face fines or be referred to social assistance rather than losing benefits for life.

He also urged fairer tax collection and noted that the NSSF has made progress by allowing workers from all sectors, including the self-employed, to join the system…