Does Resigning Before Retirement Affect Unemployment Benefits?

Four Conditions to Receive Unemployment Benefits

According to Vietnam Social Security, employed individuals who have participated in unemployment insurance will be eligible to receive unemployment benefits if they meet all four conditions stipulated in Article 49 of the Labor Law.

Firstly, the employee must have terminated their labor contract or work contract. This excludes cases where the employee unilaterally terminates the labor contract or work contract in violation of the law, or those who are receiving monthly retirement pensions or loss-of-work capacity allowances.

Secondly, the employee must have paid unemployment insurance contributions for at least 12 months within the 24 months preceding the termination of their labor contract or work contract (for fixed-term and indefinite-term contracts).

For seasonal or fixed-term contracts of at least 3 months but less than 12 months, employees must have paid unemployment insurance contributions for at least 12 months within the preceding 36 months.

Thirdly, the employee must submit their application for unemployment benefits to the local employment service center within 3 months from the date of termination of their contract.

Fourthly, the employee must remain unemployed after 15 days from the date of submitting their application for unemployment benefits.

Employees will not be eligible for unemployment benefits if they are unable to find a job due to the following reasons: performance of military or public security obligations; enrollment in full-time studies of at least 12 months; undergoing corrective education, compulsory education, or compulsory drug rehabilitation; being detained, serving a prison sentence; emigrating or working abroad under a contract; or death.

Thus, as long as these four conditions are met, employees are entitled to unemployment benefits, regardless of whether they left their job waiting to reach retirement age.

Adjustments to the Procedure for Resolving Unemployment Benefit Claims

The Ministry of Home Affairs has also recently issued a decision announcing the amended and supplemented administrative procedures in the field of employment. Among these, the procedure for resolving unemployment benefit claims has undergone some changes.

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the basic administrative procedure for resolving unemployment benefit claims remains unchanged. However, the authority for these procedures has been transferred from the Department of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs to the Department of Home Affairs.

Specifically, the procedure for resolving unemployment benefit claims follows these four steps:

Step 1: Within 3 months from the date of termination of the labor contract or work contract, unemployed individuals who wish to receive unemployment benefits must directly submit a set of application documents to the local employment service center where they intend to receive the benefits.

Step 2: The employment service center is responsible for receiving and inspecting the application documents. They will issue a receipt with a scheduled date for the outcome and hand it to the applicant. If the application is incomplete, it will be returned to the applicant with a clear explanation.

Step 3: Within 20 working days from the date of receipt of the complete application, the employment service center shall examine and submit the application to the Director of the Department of Home Affairs for a decision on the employee’s entitlement to unemployment benefits. If the employee does not meet the conditions, the center must provide a written response to the employee.

Step 4: Within 3 working days from the date specified on the receipt, the employee must come to receive the decision on their entitlement to unemployment benefits.

If the employee fails to receive the decision or authorize another person to receive it on their behalf, and does not inform the employment service center of the reason for their absence, it shall be deemed that they no longer wish to receive unemployment benefits.