International experience and the literature on social protection suggest that attempts to rapidly expand formal safety net coverage through cash transferstypically founder in low income contexts. The case of Vietnam conforms to this generalization. Despite over a decade of rapid economic growth and poverty reduction, approximately 40% of the population is below or just above the poverty line and is highly vulnerable to community-wide or household-specific shocks. YetVietnam’s social protection budget has largely financed formal entitlement programs that are failing to deliver substantial reductions in vulnerability for this broadspectrum of the rural population. This paper outlines the state of social protection in Vietnam and presents an agenda for improving effective coverage rates. It closes by assessing the political and bureaucratic feasibility of social protection reforms inVietnam and other developing countries.