Can Civil Servants Retire Early with Full Pension Benefits After 15 Years of Social Insurance Contributions?

The Ministry of Home Affairs is seeking feedback on a draft decree proposing policies for officials who are not eligible for reappointment due to age limits for term-based positions within the Party, State, Fatherland Front, and socio-political organizations. The decree applies to the following subjects:

– Officials as defined in Clause 1 and Clause 3, Article 4 of the Law on Cadres and Civil Servants, who do not meet the age requirements for reappointment to term-based positions within the Communist Party of Vietnam, the State, the Vietnam Fatherland Front, and socio-political organizations at the central level; at the provincial and municipal levels; at the district, town, and municipal levels; and at the commune, ward, and township levels.

– Officials elected to hold the position of full-time member of the Party inspection committees at various levels (from the central to district levels and equivalent levels).

– Civil servants holding appointed positions (not elected positions) who are also members of Party committees at various levels or who simultaneously hold full-time positions (elected positions) in the Vietnam Fatherland Front and socio-political organizations, and who are not reappointed due to age limits, voluntarily retire from their positions, and receive approval from the competent authority.

– Officials who meet the requirements for reappointment at the Party Congress at various levels but do not meet the age requirements for reappointment to the People’s Council and People’s Committee at the same level, or who have less than 60 months left in their term and will reach the retirement age, but due to personnel arrangements, voluntarily retire from their positions and receive approval from the competent authority.

According to the draft decree, the above-mentioned subjects who have contributed to compulsory social insurance for at least 15 years and voluntarily request early retirement by submitting an application to the competent authority shall be entitled to retirement benefits in accordance with the law on social insurance and shall not have their retirement benefits reduced due to early retirement.

Additionally, they shall receive a three-month allowance for each year of early retirement (compared to the retirement age specified in Appendix II issued together with Decree No. 135/2020/ND-CP dated November 18, 2020, of the Government) and a five-month allowance for the first 15 years of work with social insurance contributions. For each additional year of work with social insurance contributions from the 16th year onwards, they shall receive an allowance equivalent to half a month’s salary.

Furthermore, for officials receiving position-based salaries, if they have received the first-level salary of their current position for 48 months or more, they shall be entitled to the second-level salary of their current position upon retirement. For officials receiving professional salaries and holding leadership allowances who have not reached the final salary level in their current salary grade and are less than 12 months away from being eligible for a regular salary increase, they shall be granted a salary increase ahead of schedule upon retirement.

For officials already receiving the final salary level or a seniority allowance above the frame in their current salary grade and holding a bachelor’s degree or higher, they shall be promoted to the next higher salary grade without an examination upon retirement.