The Ministry of Interior addresses the issue of officials requesting early retirement but whose applications have not yet been processed.

This was a concern raised by many commune-level officials and civil servants in several provinces and cities to the Ministry of Interior during the early days of operating the two-tiered local government model.

Mr. Nguyen Van An (born June 9, 1969), a commune official in Nam Dinh province (now Ninh Binh province), reported that he has a university degree and has participated in compulsory social insurance for 25 years.

In accordance with the policy of reorganizing administrative units as stipulated in Decree 178/2024, on May 19th, he submitted an application for early retirement effective July 1st, as prescribed in Article 7 of this decree. His application was approved by the Commune People's Committee, and the dossier was forwarded to the Provincial People's Committee for consideration and resolution of his retirement benefits.

However, as of June 29th, the Department of Internal Affairs had still not issued a response. Meanwhile, according to the assignment decision effective from July 1st, Mr. An continues to be assigned to work at the Office of the People's Council and People's Committee of the commune.

Mr. An asked: In the case of someone who has already filed for early retirement but whose application has not yet been processed, and who is assigned a new task after July 1st, will they be eligible to retire under Decree 178/2024? If they wish to retire after that date, what procedures need to be followed?

The Ministry of Interior responded as follows: According to Article 2 of Decree 178/2024 (amended and supplemented by Decree 67/2025), Mr. An is among those directly affected by the administrative unit restructuring, which is a condition for being considered for early retirement.

However, the resolution of this issue is not directly decided by the Ministry of Interior, but is delegated to local authorities.

Specifically, according to Articles 17 and 19 of Decree 178, the responsibility for considering and resolving early retirement benefits for officials, civil servants, and public employees rests with the head of the agency or unit directly managing and employing the personnel.

After obtaining the consensus of the directly managing unit (in this case, the People's Committee of the commune), the provincial People's Committee will be the competent authority to review and make the official decision.

Therefore, in Mr. An's case, the lack of a written response from the Department of Internal Affairs does not mean he cannot retire, but rather that his application has not yet been fully processed.

The Ministry of Interior suggested that he continue to submit his petition to the competent provincial authority for consideration according to the proper procedure.

Therefore, officials affected by the administrative unit restructuring may be eligible for early retirement in accordance with Decrees 178 and 67. However, whether or not they retire depends on the decision of the provincial People's Committee, based on their records and proposals from the unit directly managing them.

Speaking with VietNamNet, Nguyen Quang Dung, Director of the Department of Civil Servants and Public Employees (Ministry of Interior), provided further information: Decrees 178 and 67 have very strict regulations; not everyone who requests leave will be considered for it. The agency or unit managing the civil servants must conduct a comprehensive assessment and review who does not meet the requirements and tasks of the new job before considering their resignation.

According to Mr. Dung, before the issuance of Decree 178, the Politburo had stipulated that the policy must ensure the rights of those directly affected by the restructuring and reorganization of the apparatus, while also retaining capable individuals and removing those who do not meet the requirements from the system.