Vũ Quang Thọ, former lecturer at the Hà Nội University of Home Affairs and former director of the Institute of Workers and Trade Unions. — Photo vov.vn

Workers who have paid mandatory social insurance for 20 years or more and choose to retire early will be eligible for their full pension. Additionally, they will receive a subsidy equivalent to five months' current salary for each year of early retirement and another subsidy equal to five months' average salary for the first 20 years of employment with social insurance contributions.

These measures are part of a draft decree by the Ministry of Home Affairs, outlining policies for officials not reappointed in Party and State agencies, as well as for workers opting for early retirement. The draft decree is currently under review by the Ministry of Justice.

Vũ Quang Thọ, a former lecturer at the Hà Nội University of Home Affairs and former director of the Institute of Workers and Trade Unions, shared his insights with the Voice of Việt Nam (VOV) regarding the proposed policies.

The draft decree under consultation includes a proposal that civil servants and officials who have paid mandatory social insurance for at least 20 years and voluntarily retire early due to not being eligible for reappointment will receive their full pension. What are your thoughts?

This is a very humane policy and is right in addressing the needs of both workers and the Government workforce. Without such measures, we will not resolve the problem of redundant staffing or the bloated apparatus of the State.

Thus, the cycle of reducing and increasing staffing will be difficult to break. I believe this is an initial step in solving the bottleneck of redundant staff.

One of the proposals in the draft decree specifies that the salary used to calculate subsidies is the average monthly salary of the last five years before retirement. Do you find this proposal appropriate?

From my perspective, given that our budget is not abundant, this policy aligns with Việt Nam’s economic conditions and the capacity of the State budget, as most funds for resolving redundant workers’ salaries come from public resources.

So this policy is appropriate given the current economic situation of the country.

Workers who have paid mandatory social insurance for 20 years or more and choose to retire early will be eligible for their full pension. — Photo chinhphu.vn

Concerns have been raised about the financial resources required to implement support policies for early retirees. How do you think these obstacles can be resolved?

This is a key issue – finding financial resources for the State to readily use these funds to support workers. If it is evident that a worker is redundant according to the State's requirements or lacks sufficient capacity to perform, then having a budgetary reserve for this purpose is critical.

This reserve fund is necessary to address the redundant workforce promptly and meet the needs of the labour force restructuring process.

What additional suggestions do you have for developing the draft decree on policies for officials not eligible for reappointment or retiring early?

I think that if the State budget can be expanded, it is necessary to create a fund to provide more comprehensive support for redundant staff eligible for early retirement.

To achieve this, the policy must be framed so that workers view this as an open opportunity provided by the State, helping them quickly integrate into the economy and align with the State’s overarching goals. It also ensures the Government workforce becomes more streamlined and efficient.

With the support policies for workers not eligible for reappointment or voluntarily retiring early, if enacted, what social impacts do you foresee?

First, this will lighten the State apparatus, making it leaner and more efficient.

Secondly, those still employed will feel a stronger responsibility to work diligently because they see that underperforming could lead to redundancy and dismissal.

Thirdly, if implemented, this will be one of the measures to create an elite workforce, reduce budget burdens and ensure the State apparatus becomes more compact and efficient. — VNS