The draft law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Officers of the Vietnam People's Army (Law on Officers) has been agreed by the National Assembly Standing Committee to be included in the 2024 law and ordinance development program.
It is expected that at the 8th session of the 15th National Assembly (October 2024), the National Assembly will give opinions and consider passing this Law project according to the simplified procedure.
One of the main policy groups that many people are interested in when amending the Law on Officers is the proposal to raise the age limit for active service of officers of the Vietnam People's Army (VPA).
On July 30, in an exchange with Lao Dong, Dr. Bui Sy Loi - former Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly's Social Affairs Committee - said that basically, the working age of VPA officers needs to be close to the Labor Code. However, the armed forces are a special type of labor. Therefore, when considering the age of active service and retirement age of VPA officers, several aspects need to be considered.
That is, the professions of VPA officers are well-trained, and when they are still able to contribute, the retirement age should be close to the Labor Code.
However, due to the special nature of the profession, the military force can consider reducing the retirement age due to the decline in labor capacity. In this case, an early retirement option can be considered.
According to Dr. Bui Sy Loi, in the military, it is also necessary to consider the trend that when officers reach an advanced age, over 50 years old, personnel should be arranged and assigned appropriately according to their health and working capacity.
“However, as it stands, according to the Law on Officers of the VPA, the retirement age is too early, which clearly has disadvantages. Meanwhile, military officers are well-trained through formal schools, and if their working time is short and they retire early, it will be a waste of human resources and labor. Moreover, this also affects their pensions when their participation time in social insurance is lower compared to the external labor force," Dr. Bui Sy Loi analyzed.
According to the current amended Law on Officers of the VPA in 2019, the retirement age of military officers is divided according to rank.
Accordingly, the age for lieutenants is 46; for majors is 48; for lieutenant colonels is 51; for colonels is 54. These ages apply to both men and women.
From the rank of colonel, the highest age limit for men is 57, and for women is 54. For generals, men are 60, and women are 55.
The law also clearly stipulates that when the military has a need, officers with sufficient political, ethical qualities, professional expertise, good health, and voluntary willingness can have their active service age extended compared to the regulation but not more than 5 years; in special cases, it can be extended further.
After the Ministry of Defense submitted the proposal, the Government issued a resolution on the proposal to develop a draft law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Officers, which basically agreed with the 3 policies proposed by the Ministry of Defense: Completing regulations on basic positions and equivalent positions and titles of VPA officers to meet the requirements of building a revolutionary, regular, elite, and modern Army; raising the age limit for active service of VPA officers; stipulating the highest military rank for positions and titles of VPA officers.
