Vietnam’s Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) has proposed two options to revise the Labor Code on retirement age starting 2021 as the aging pace of the population if accelerating, local media reported.

According to the draft of the revised Labor Code, the retirement age will be raised to 62 for males and 60 for females, from respective 60 and 55 currently, with two options.

The first option would be that from January 1, 2021, the retirement age under normal working conditions is 60 years and three months old for men, and 55 years and four months old for women. After that, three months will be added for men and four months for women every year, until reaching the age of 62 for males and 60 for females.

The second option would be that from January 1, 2021, the retirement age under normal working conditions is 60 years and four months old for men, and 55 years and six months old for women. After that, three months will be added for men and four months for women every year, until men are 62 and women are 60 to retire.

The draft Labor Code stipulates the right to retire no earlier than five years for workers with reduced working capacity; those laboring in extremely heavy, hazardous or dangerous conditions and some special jobs.

Besides, the draft provides the right to retire no later than five years for workers with technical qualifications, managers and some special cases.

The MoLISA said that the retirement age increase aims to ensure the conformity with the size, structure, quality, health status and life expectancy of Vietnamese workers.

The MoLISA noted that through surveys, most of the respondents favored the the first option.

The common retirement age in the world is over 60 for women, over 62 for men. The International Labor Organization (ILO)’s statistics on retirement age of 176 countries show that female and male retirement age is from 60-62, accounting for 37.5% and 47.2% respectively.

However, there are some disagreements over the proposed increase of the retirement age, according to the ministry's draft law, citing employers resisting any change to the current regulations.

“Some said that increasing the retirement age may reduce their benefits and other social welfare allowances,” the ministry noted.

Some even said that this proposal only benefits public servants in the state sector since it adds value to senior state officials, the ministry added.

It expects to submit the proposal to the National Assembly in May 2019 to have it possibly approved in October 2019. Hanoitimes