Regulations on unified retirement age conditions from July 1, 2025

The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs said that in addition to the key new points, the Social Insurance Law 2024 also amends and supplements regulations on social insurance regimes to be more suitable to reality, including regulations on retirement age.

AMENDING INAPPLICABLE REGULATIONS TO ENSURE EMPLOYEE RIGHTS

According to Article 169 of the 2019 Labor Code, the retirement age for men and women under normal working conditions is as follows:

Employees who ensure the conditions on social insurance payment period according to the provisions of the law on social insurance are entitled to receive pension when reaching retirement age.

The retirement age of employees in normal working conditions is adjusted according to the roadmap until reaching 62 years old for male employees in 2028, and 60 years old for female employees in 2035.

From 2021, the retirement age of employees under normal working conditions is 60 years and 3 months for male employees, and 55 years and 4 months for female employees. After that, it will increase by 3 months for male employees and 4 months for female employees each year.

The Law on Social Insurance 2024 stipulates the conditions for receiving pensions, that is, employees who have paid compulsory social insurance for 15 years or more when retiring are entitled to receive pensions if they are in one of the cases of retirement age according to the provisions of the Labor Code.

The Government regulates pension entitlement in cases where the date and month of birth cannot be determined or records are lost, and other special cases.

In addition, the Law has inherited and developed current regulations that have been tested in practice, amended inappropriate regulations, ensuring feasibility, long-term, and ensuring the consistency and unity of the legal system. Specifically:

(i) Supplementing regulations on sick leave benefits for cases of taking sick leave for less than a full day.

(ii) Employees are covered by the Social Insurance Fund for health insurance during sick leave of 14 working days or more per month.

(iii) Amend the regulations on sick leave for employees who take leave due to illness on the list of illnesses requiring long-term treatment, calculated annually.

(iv) Supplementing conditions for maternity benefits when giving birth in cases where one has to take time off work to treat infertility.

(v) In case a female employee is 22 weeks pregnant or older and meets the prescribed conditions and has a miscarriage, abortion, stillbirth, or stillbirth during labor, the female employee and her husband are entitled to maternity leave as in the case of a female employee giving birth.

(vi) Amend the regulations on maternity leave period in case of death after childbirth.

(vii) Employees are covered by the Social Insurance Fund for health insurance during maternity leave of 14 working days or more per month.

(viii) Regulations consistent with the 2019 Labor Code on retirement age and pension age conditions.

(ix) Amend and supplement regulations on one-time retirement benefits to encourage employees to continue working and paying social insurance after retirement age.

(x) Amend regulations on age conditions for relatives receiving monthly pensions to be consistent with the retirement age of the 2019 Labor Code.

(xi) Amend the regulations on the right to choose to receive monthly or one-time death benefits, in a way that respects the right to choose of the relatives of the employee, regardless of the case. When relatives are eligible for monthly death benefits, they have the right to choose to receive monthly death benefits, or choose to receive one-time death benefits in a more beneficial way.

BE WELL PREPARED WHEN IMPLEMENTING THE LAW

To ensure that the provisions of the Law are implemented promptly, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs has coordinated with the Ministry of Justice to develop and submit to the Prime Minister a draft Decision promulgating the List and assigning agencies to draft documents detailing the laws and resolutions passed by the 15th National Assembly at the 7th Session.

As planned, to detail the articles and clauses assigned in the Law on Social Insurance 2024, the Government will issue 11 Decrees, and ministries will issue 3 Circulars. Specifically: (1) Decree detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Social Insurance on compulsory social insurance.

(2) Decree detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Social Insurance on voluntary social insurance.

(3) Decree detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Social Insurance on social retirement benefits (amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 20/2021/ND-CP and amended and supplemented in Decree No. 76/2024/ND-CP of the Government).

(4) Decree stipulating the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of Vietnam Social Security.

(5) The Decree stipulates the order and procedures for establishment, working regime, responsibilities, operating expenses and supporting apparatus of the Social Insurance Management Board.

(6) Decree regulating electronic transactions in the field of social insurance and national database on insurance.

(7) Decree detailing a number of articles of the Law on Social Insurance on late payment, evasion of payment of compulsory social insurance, unemployment insurance; complaints and denunciations about social insurance, and regulations on sanctioning administrative violations in the field of social insurance.

(8) Decree regulating investment activities of the Social Insurance Fund.

(9) Decree regulating the financial mechanism of social insurance, expenses for organization and operation of social insurance.

(10) Decree regulating supplementary pension insurance.

(11) Decree detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Social Insurance on compulsory social insurance for military personnel, people's police officers and people working in key positions receiving salaries as military personnel.

(12) Circular detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Social Insurance on compulsory social insurance.

(13) Circular detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Social Insurance on voluntary social insurance.

(14) Circular detailing the implementation of the Law on Social Insurance in the health sector.

In the coming time, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs will continue to coordinate with relevant ministries and agencies to review legal documents related to the Law on Social Insurance in the management field to promulgate according to its authority, or propose to competent authorities to promptly amend, supplement, replace, abolish, ensure conformity, and promptly implement when the Law on Social Insurance 2024 comes into effect.

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The 2024 Social Insurance Law inherits the structure of the 2014 Social Insurance Law, adding 3 new contents (Social retirement benefits; Management of social insurance collection and payment; Investment of Social Insurance Fund); removing the item on occupational accident and disease regime (already stipulated in the Law on Labor Safety and Hygiene).
Add a chapter on supplementary pension insurance, a chapter on State management of social insurance; combine articles related to the rights and responsibilities of agencies and organizations in one chapter; do not prescribe a separate chapter on social insurance procedures and processes but integrate them into each regime.