Conditions on retirement ages for pension enjoyment under the new regulations in Vietnam as of 2021

Conditions on retirement ages for pension enjoyment under the new regulations in Vietnam as of 2021 (Internet image)

1. Current:

According to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 11 of Decree 115/2015/ND-CP, each employee having a total payment period of voluntary and compulsory social insurance of 20 years or longer shall have the standard retirement age of 60 years of age for male and 55 years of age for female, excluding the cases where employees have paid compulsory social insurance for 20 years or more:

** Conditions on retirement ages for pension enjoyment are as follows:

(1) Clauses 1, 2 and 4 of Article 54 and Article 55 of the Law on Social Insurance 2014:

+ Employees who cease working after having paid social insurance premiums for at least full 20 years, are entitled to pension if they fall under the following cases:

• Being full 60 years old, for men, or full 55 years old, for women;

• Being between full 55 years and full 60 years old, for men, or between full 50 years and full 55 years old, for women, and having full 15 years doing heavy, hazardous or dangerous occupations or jobs or extremely heavy, hazardous or dangerous occupations or jobs on the list jointly issued by the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Health, or having full 15 years working in areas with a region-based allowance coefficient of 0.7 or higher;

• Employees who are between full 50 years and full 55 years old and have paid social insurance premiums for at least full 20 years, including full 15 years spent in coal mines;

• Employees who are infected with HIV/AIDS due to occupational risks.

= Professional officers and servicemen,...(defined at Points dd and e, Clause 1, Article 2 of the Law on Social Insurance 2014), who cease working after having paid social insurance premiums for at least full 20 years, are entitled to pension when falling in one of the following cases:

• Being full 55 years old, for men, or full 50 years old, for women, unless otherwise provided by the Law on Officers of the Vietnam People’s Army, the Law on People’s Public Security or the Law on Cipher;

• Being between full 50 years and full 55 years old, for men, or between full 45 years and full 50 years old, for women, and having full 15 years doing heavy, hazardous or dangerous occupations or jobs or extremely heavy, hazardous or dangerous occupations or jobs on the list jointly issued by the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Health, or having full 15 years working in areas with a region-based allowance coefficient of 0.7 or higher;

• Employees who are infected with HIV/AIDS due to occupational risks.

+  The Government shall stipulate the conditions on retirement ages for pension enjoyment in special cases

(2) Article 6 of Decree 115/2015/ND-CP: Conditions for pension enjoyment are prescribed as follows:

+ Each employee who is 50 years of age or older and has paid social insurance for 20 years or longer, including 15 years working in coal mines shall be entitled to a pension as prescribed in Point c Clause 1 Article 54 of the Law on Social insurance. The coal-mine works shall be prescribed in by the Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs.

= Each employee who is infected with HIV/AIDS due to occupational risks and has paid social insurance for 20 years or longer shall be entitled to a pension.

** The lowest monthly pension is equal to the base salary, except for those who work part-time in communes, wards, and towns.

2. From January 1, 2021:

Conditions on retirement ages for pension enjoyment for participants of compulsory and voluntary social insurance in Clause 2, Article 11 of Decree 115/2015/ND-CP will be annulled and the following regulations will apply:

(1) Article 169, Clause 1, Article 219 of the Labor Code 2019. Specifically:

- Article 169 of the Labor Code 2019:

Retirement ages of employees in normal working conditions shall be gradually increased to 62 for males by 2028 and 60 for females in 2035.

From 2021, the retirement ages of employees in normal working conditions shall be 60 yeas 03 months for males and 55 years 04 months for females, and shall increase by 03 months for males and 04 months for females after every year.

- Clause 1, Article 219 of the Labor Code 2019:

+ An employee who have retired will receive retirement pension if he/she has paid social insurance for at least 20 years and:

• He/she has reached the retirement age specified in Clause 2 Article 169 of the Labor Code 2019;

• He/she has reached the retirement age specified in Clause 3 Article 169 of the Labor Code 2019 and has at least 15 years’ doing the laborious, toxic or dangerous works or highly laborious, toxic or dangerous works on the lists of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs; or has at least 15 years’ working in highly disadvantaged areas, including the period he/she works in areas with the region factor of at least 0,7 before January 01, 2021;

• His/her age is younger than the retirement age specified in Clause 2 Article 169 of the Labor Code 2019 by up to 10 years and he/she has worked in coal mines for at least 15 years; or

• He/she contracted HIV due to an occupation accident during performance of his/her assigned duty.

+ Professional officers and servicemen,... falling under Point dd and Point e, Clause 1, Article 2 of the Law on Social Insurance 2014, who have quit their job, will receive retirement pension if he/she has paid social insurance for at least 20 years and:

• His/her age is younger than the retirement age specified in Clause 2 Article 169 of the Labor Code by up to 05 years, unless otherwise prescribed by the Law on Military Officer of Vietnam’s Army, the Law of People’s Police, the Law on Cipher and the Law on professional servicemen and women, national defense workers and officials;

• His/her age is younger than the retirement age specified in Clause 3 Article 169 of the Labor Code by up to 05 years and he/she has at least 15 years’ doing the laborious, toxic or dangerous works or highly laborious, toxic or dangerous works on the lists of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs; or has at least 15 years’ working in highly disadvantaged areas, including the period he/she works in areas with the region factor of at least 0,7 before January 01, 2021; or

• He/she contracted HIV due to an occupation accident during performance of his/her assigned duty.

+ The Government shall stipulate the conditions on retirement ages for pension enjoyment in special cases

(2) Decree 135/2020/ND-CP:

Specifically, in Decree 135/2020/ND-CP, which stipulates from January 1, 2021, the provisions of the retirement regime linked to the conditions of retirement age for pension entitlement under Article 54, Article 55, Clause 1 of Article 73 of the Law on Social Insurance 2014 shall be implemented according to the retirement age and conditions for pension entitlement under Article 169, Clause 1 of Article 219 of the Labor Code 2019, and the provisions of this Decree.

Therefore, from January 1, 2021, the provisions on the retirement regime in general and the age for pension entitlement in particular will be implemented according to the new regulations under Article 169, Clause 1 of Article 219 of the Labor Code 2019, and Decree 135/2020/ND-CP. Please take note of the important contents regarding the changes.

Thuy Tram

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