"Government kicks off pension scheme for private sector", 6 July 2022

The government has launched a social security pension fund aimed at providing retirement benefits to private sector employees, in a move applauded by civil society groups and workers.

The Labor Ministry and the Ministry of Finance issued a joint proclamation, noting that the new fund will launch July 1, 2022, though companies will have several months to begin implementation.

​​Heng Sophannarith, Deputy Director General of the National Social Security Fund, told ...that the implementation of the contribution pension scheme will be carried out on October 1, 2022.

“When [the employees] reach the age of 60, [the NSSF] calculates their last six months’ salary [to set the pension].” Sophannarith said. If an employee dies before the age of 60, the family will receive the pension for one year.

... Sophannarith explained that this pension is different from the two current social security systems: occupational accidents and health care. In both cases, the employers pay 100 percent for the workers.

... Ath Thorn, president of the Cambodian Labor Confederation, welcomed the pension scheme, but said it comes too late to help many older employees.

“The late implementation of the social security pension fund will make citizens or workers, employees who are older, have less chance to donate, and they will get less percentage from pension funds,” he said...

... Transparency International Cambodia executive director Pech Pisey, said that there are public doubts over the management of funds — which the government can alleviate by making any investments transparent...