General conditions for receiving pensions: According to the Social Insurance Law 2024, employees must simultaneously meet two conditions on social insurance payment period and retirement age to receive pensions.
Regarding the social insurance payment period: Employees must have paid compulsory social insurance for 15 years or more. This is an important change compared to the old regulation (20-year requirement), creating conditions for many employees with a short period of social insurance participation to access pension benefits. For voluntary social insurance participants, the required social insurance payment period is also 15 years or more.
Regarding retirement age: The retirement age is implemented according to the roadmap prescribed in the Labor Code 2019. Specifically, For men, from the age of 60 years and 3 months in 2021, it will increase by 3 months per year until reaching the age of 62 in 2028. For women, from the age of 55 years and 4 months in 2021, it will increase by 4 months per year until reaching the age of 60 in 2035.
In case of early retirement
Some subjects are allowed to retire early but still have to pay social insurance:
Working hard, toxic, in particularly difficult areas: Paying social insurance for 15 years or more, receiving a maximum of 5 years of early retirement.
Mining underground coal: Closed for 15 years, early retirement for a maximum of 10 years.
Officers, professional soldiers, People's Public Security and other special subjects: Maximum early retirement for 5 years if they have paid for 15 years.
People infected with HIV/AIDS due to occupational risks: Pay for 15 years, no age requirement.
People with reduced working capacity: Pay at least 20 years, retire 5-10 years early depending on the severity level, but the pension is deducted 2% for each year of early retirement. Specific cases are regulated as follows:
- Retire at most 05 years early if the working capacity is reduced from 61% to less than 81%.
- Retire 10 years earlier than the maximum if the working capacity is reduced by 81% or more.
- People who have worked for 15 years or more in a particularly arduous, toxic, dangerous job or job and have a working capacity reduction of 61% or more are also entitled to a pension at a lower level.
Important note
Unknown date of birth: If the application only has a year of birth, the default date of birth is January 1 of that year; if there are only months and years, take the 1st of the month.
Time working on the battlefield: Before April 30, 1975 (B, C) and before August 31, 1989 (K) are counted as working in areas with an regional allowance coefficient of 0.7.
Combining compulsory and voluntary social insurance: Time is accumulated; if there are 15 years of compulsory social insurance contributions and the age is reached, pension will be received according to the compulsory social insurance regime.
These new points help many workers have a short and interrupted social insurance payment process to still ensure retirement benefits, while encouraging people to participate in social insurance early and continuously.
