How to calculate benefits for those retiring early upon downsizing in Vietnam? Is the retirement allowance subject to PIT?

Who are eligible for the early retirement policy upon downsizing in Vietnam as per Circular 01?

Based on Article 4 of Circular 01/2025/TT-BNV, the regulation is as follows:

How to Calculate Benefits for Those Retiring Early

Subjects stipulated in Article 2 of this Circular qualify and are authorized by competent bodies to retire earlier than the retirement age specified in Appendix I or Appendix II issued with Decree No. 135/2020/ND-CP. They will immediately receive their pension according to legal regulations on social insurance without any reduction in pension rate due to early retirement. Additionally, they will receive a lump-sum retirement allowance as specified in Clause 1, Article 7 of Decree No. 178/2024/ND-CP, an allowance based on the number of years of early retirement, and an allowance based on the period of service with mandatory social insurance contributions as specified in Clause 2, Article 7 of Decree No. 178/2024/ND-CP. Specifically:

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Referencing Article 2 of Circular 01/2025/TT-BNV which specifies applicable subjects as follows:

Applicable Subjects

officials and public employees; commune-level officials and laborers as defined in point a, point b, and point c of Clause 1, Article 2 of Decree No. 178/2024/ND-CP.

Simultaneously, referencing Article 2 of Decree 178/2024/ND-CP which states:

Applicable Subjects

1. officials and public employees, those working under contractual policies in agencies, organizations, units, and armed forces due to organizational structure arrangement, administrative units at all levels (hereinafter abbreviated as organizational structure arrangement) as specified in Article 1 of this Decree, including:

a) Leadership officials and public employees;

b) Commune-level officials and public employees;

c) Those working under labor contract policies per labor law regulations prior to January 15, 2019, and those working under labor contract policies applied like officials (hereinafter abbreviated as laborers);

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Thus, from the above provisions, it can be seen that the subjects eligible for the early retirement policy upon downsizing according to Circular 01 include:

- Leadership officials and public employees;

- Commune-level officials and public employees;

- Those working under labor contract policies as per labor law regulations before January 15, 2019, and those under labor contract policies applied like officials (hereinafter abbreviated as laborers).

How to calculate benefits for those retiring early upon downsizing in Vietnam? Is the retirement allowance subject to PIT? (Image from the Internet)

How to calculate benefits for those retiring early upon downsizing in Vietnam?

Based on Article 4 of Circular 01/2025/TT-BNV, the calculation method for benefits for those retiring early upon downsizing is as follows:

(1) For cases with an age from 2 to 5 years to retirement age specified in point a and point c of Clause 2, Article 7 of Decree 178/2024/ND-CP, three types of allowances are granted:

- lump-sum retirement allowance for the number of months of early retirement:

+ For those retiring within the first 12 months:

+ For those retiring from the 13th month onward:

- Allowance for the number of years of early retirement: Every year of early retirement (full 12 months) qualifies for 5 months of current salary.

- Allowance based on the period of service with mandatory social insurance contributions:

+ For the first 20 years of service with mandatory social insurance contributions, a 5-month current salary allowance is granted; for the remaining years (from the 21st year onward), each year receives an allowance equivalent to 0.5 months of current salary.

(2) For cases with an age from over 5 to 10 years to retirement age specified in point b of Clause 2, Article 7 of Decree 178/2024/ND-CP, three types of allowances are granted:

- lump-sum retirement allowance for the number of months of early retirement:

+ For those retiring within the first 12 months:

+ For those retiring from the 13th month onward:

- Allowance for the number of early retirement years: Every year of early retirement (full 12 months) qualifies for 4 months of current salary.

- Allowance based on service time with mandatory social insurance contributions:

+ For the first 20 years of service with mandatory social insurance contributions, a 5-month current salary allowance is granted; for the remaining years (from the 21st year onward), each year receives an allowance equivalent to 0.5 months of current salary.

(3) For cases with an age less than 2 years to retirement age specified in point d and point đ of Clause 2, Article 7 of Decree No. 178/2024/ND-CP, a lump-sum retirement allowance for early retirement months is granted using the calculation for those retiring in the first 12 months as stipulated in point a, Clause 1, Article 4 of Circular 01/2025/TT-BNV.

Is the retirement allowance upon downsizing taxable in Vietnam?

Based on point b.6 of Clause 2, Article 2 of Circular 111/2013/TT-BTC, the regulation is as follows:

Taxable Income Items

As prescribed in Article 3 of the Law on Personal Income Tax and Article 3 of Decree No. 65/2013/ND-CP, taxable income items include:

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2. Income from wages and salaries

Income from wages and salaries is income received by laborers from employers, comprising:

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b) Allowances and subsidies, except for the following allowances and subsidies:

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b.6) Unexpected hardship subsidies, occupational accident subsidies, occupational disease subsidies, lump-sum subsidies for childbirth or adoption, maternity policy benefits, convalescence benefits, rehabilitation post-maternity benefits, subsidies for reduced work capacity, lump-sum retirement subsidies, monthly death benefits, severance subsidies, job loss benefits, unemployment benefits, and other subsidies as per the Labor Code and the Law on Social Insurance.

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Thus, according to the above provision, retirement allowances are not considered taxable income for PIT purposes, meaning retirement allowances, in all cases, including when restructuring, are not subject to PIT.