On the afternoon of October 28, the National Assembly discussed in groups the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Officers of the Vietnam People's Army (VPA).
In the draft law, the Government proposes to increase the retirement age of military officers at most military ranks, except for generals. The general rank remains at 60 years old for men, and increases the retirement age for women from 55 to 60 years old.
Speaking, Brigadier General Vu Xuan Hung - Standing Member of the National Assembly's Committee on National Defense and Security - said that currently, according to regulations, the service age of officers is not consistent with a number of current laws such as the Labor Code, the Law on Social Insurance, and the Law on the People's Public Security.
Brigadier General Vu Xuan Hung cited that according to the provisions of the Social Insurance Law, for the rank of lieutenant colonel and below, such as major, at 48 years old, 35 years of service will not be guaranteed. Therefore, the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of National Defense, and the drafting committee highly agreed to amend each age group so that the lowest rank retires, takes a year off to wait for work according to regulations, which will be enough for 35 years of service.
The Law on Officers of the Vietnam People's Army also only adjusts the age to be closer to the Labor Law because the military is a special labor sector, having to operate in difficult conditions and environments and with great labor intensity. If following the age of the Labor Law, it does not meet the health and intelligence requirements for commanding the work.
Regarding generals, competent authorities such as the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of National Defense, and the Government agreed not to raise the age for many reasons, partly to give subordinates the opportunity to advance.
“We are generals so we are very comfortable with this. When we reach the rank of general, we have over 40 years of service, a relatively long time of service,” said Brigadier general Vu Xuan Hung.
Regarding the age of female officers, Brigadier General Vu Xuan Hung stated that the Government does not distinguish between the retirement ages of men and women as in the Labor Law because currently the proportion of women in the army is very low, female officers only account for 3% of the total number of officers.
According to the delegate, there is currently only one female general, and very few colonels. These female officers do not directly manage and command combat-ready units, but are mainly in academies, schools, the medical profession, and scientific research. Therefore, both male and female military generals retire at the age of 60.
Delegate Thach Phuoc Binh (Tra Vinh delegation) suggested that the drafting committee study and stipulate different retirement ages for each military branch and service in the People's Army officer force based on specific factors such as work characteristics, health, and mission requirements of each military branch.
The delegate said that there are differences in the specific work of the military and service branches. Giving specific examples, the delegate said that the military and service branches such as infantry, artillery, navy, and air force all have different specific work characteristics and health requirements.
Officers serving in the navy and air force work in harsh environments, often facing high risks and prolonged stress leading to rapid health deterioration.
Setting an early retirement age for these military branches can maintain officers' health and ensure work.
According to the delegate, flexible retirement age will ensure effectiveness in combat readiness.
According to the draft law, for lieutenants, the maximum age limit for active officers (retirement age) increases from 46 to 50 years old; Major from 48 to 52 years old; Lieutenant colonel from 51 to 54 years old; Senior Lieutenant colonel from 54 to 56 years old; Colonel from 57 years old (for men) and 55 years old (for women) to 58 years old (regardless of gender).
