Labor Code 2019 was officially passed by the National Assembly at the 8th session of the 14th National Assembly on November 20, 2019, with the approval of 90.06% of the deputies.
Article table of contents
Labor Code 2019: New Conditions for Receiving Retirement Pensions from 2021 (Illustration)
Article 169 of the Labor Code 2019 has increased the retirement age for employees under normal working conditions gradually until it reaches 62 years for male employees in 2028 and 60 years for female employees in 2035.
From 2021 onwards, the retirement age for employees under normal working conditions is 60 years and 3 months for male employees and 55 years and 4 months for female employees; thereafter, each year it increases by 3 months for male employees and 4 months for female employees.
Along with the gradual increase in the retirement age for employees, the Labor Code 2019 has amended and supplemented the conditions for receiving pensions in the Law on Social Insurance 2014 as follows:
1. Employees as specified in points a, b, c, d, g, h, and i, clause 1, Article 2 of this Law, except for the cases specified in clause 3 of this Article, who retire with at least 20 years of social insurance contributions, are entitled to a pension if they fall into one of the following cases:
a) Reaching the age as stipulated in clause 2, Article 169 of the Labor Code;
b) Reaching the age as stipulated in clause 3, Article 169 of the Labor Code and having at least 15 years in heavy, hazardous, dangerous occupations or special heavy, hazardous, dangerous occupations as listed by the Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs, or having 15 years of work in areas with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions, including the period of working in areas with a regional allowance coefficient of 0.7 or higher before January 1, 2021;
c) Employees who are at most 10 years younger than the retirement age as stipulated in clause 2, Article 169 of the Labor Code and have at least 15 years of coal mining work in underground mines;
d) Employees infected with HIV due to occupational risks while performing their assigned tasks.
2. Employees as specified in points d and e, clause 1, Article 2 of this Law, who retire with at least 20 years of social insurance contributions, are entitled to a pension in one of the following cases:
a) Being at most 5 years younger than the retirement age as stipulated in clause 2, Article 169 of the Labor Code, except in cases where the Law on People’s Army Officers, the Law on People’s Public Security, the Cipher Law, and the Law on Professional Army Men, National Defense Workers and Public Employees have other stipulations;
b) Being at most 5 years younger than the retirement age as stipulated in clause 3, Article 169 of the Labor Code, and having at least 15 years in heavy, hazardous, dangerous occupations or special heavy, hazardous, dangerous occupations as listed by the Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs, or having 15 years of work in regions with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions, including the period of working in areas with a regional allowance coefficient of 0.7 or higher before January 1, 2021;
c) Employees infected with HIV due to occupational risks while performing their assigned tasks.
3. Female workers who are commune-level officials or are non-permanent workers at communes, wards, or commune-level towns participating in social insurance, who retire with between 15 to less than 20 years of social insurance contributions and reach the retirement age stipulated in clause 2, Article 169 of the Labor Code, are entitled to pensions.
4. Conditions regarding age for receiving pensions for certain special cases as prescribed by the Government of Vietnam.
The amendments to this regulation in the Law on Social Insurance 2014 are appropriate and necessary. Currently, Article 54 of the Law on Social Insurance specifies the conditions for receiving pensions according to the retirement age as a specific number; for instance, under normal working conditions, it is 60 years for men and 55 years for women. However, from January 1, 2021, onward, the retirement age will increase incrementally each year rather than being a fixed number as presently. Therefore, the retirement age for employees from 2021 will also increase incrementally each year according to this regulation.
Nguyen Trinh
