Deputy Minister of Labor affirms that retirement age must be increased

Faced with conflicting opinions on increasing the retirement age, Deputy Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Pham Minh Huan said that the increase is necessary due to the fact that there are many qualified female workers aged 55 and male workers aged 60.

Deputy Minister Huan said that it is not today that the retirement age will increase to 62 by 2017. It must increase gradually, each year only increasing by a few months...

The proposal to increase the retirement age is being raised again in the upcoming revision and supplementation of the Labor Code.

Accordingly, the retirement age for cadres, civil servants and public employees is proposed to increase from 55 to 60 years old for women and from 60 to 62 years old for men.

It is expected that in 2017, when submitting the revised Labor Code to the National Assembly, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs will continue to submit a plan to increase the retirement age. This solution is to respond to the risk of imbalance in the Social Insurance Fund, the aging population, etc.

Deputy Minister Huan explained that increasing the retirement age is necessary because in reality, the labor force in our country today has many people with qualifications, capacity, and experience who can still contribute well, but the use of this high-quality resource is very wasteful.

"Therefore, after retirement, very few people can contribute to the country's economic development" - said the Deputy Minister.

Furthermore, we are experiencing an imbalance between contributions and benefits, especially pension funds, due to the contribution period being too short and the benefit period being too long.

Deputy Minister Pham Minh Huan

“There are two aspects to consider: increasing the contribution rate or reducing the benefit rate. However, the current contribution rate of employees and employers is quite high (32.5%) compared to the region and is only behind some countries. Therefore, it is also necessary to consider increasing the contribution rate by extending the contribution period,” the Deputy Minister added.

Are there areas where retirement age should be reduced?

Mr. Dang Quang Dieu, Head of the Economic and Social Policy Department (Vietnam General Confederation of Labor), needs to set a roadmap to increase the retirement age. When to raise it is a matter that needs careful consideration.

According to Mr. Dieu's analysis, currently, it is necessary to increase the retirement age for those working in universities, scientific research institutes, or in the administrative sector, the increase is only for 2 years and will be adjusted after 10-20 years.

As for direct labor, it is necessary to consider not raising the retirement age. Particularly for laborers working in heavy and toxic areas (textiles, footwear, seafood processing, mining, electronics workers...), the retirement age should not even be raised but should be considered to be reduced.

Raising the retirement age will affect young people's employment. (Photo: Financial Times)

Deputy Minister Huan continued, increasing the retirement age needs to be calculated based on the industry. It is very difficult to increase the retirement age in heavy and toxic industries, but in the administrative sector and some industries with not too heavy work, the retirement age can be extended.

“Many countries are increasing the age to 65 for men and 60 for women, but in our country, many experts say that for men it should be increased from 60 to 62, and for women from 55 to 58.

However, we will base on the actual situation to see whether to continue to increase or maintain that level. Later, if the economy improves and the physical condition of workers improves, we will continue to increase," said Mr. Huan.

Not narrowing the opportunities of young workers?

In response to many opinions that increasing the retirement age will narrow job opportunities for young workers, the Deputy Minister said: Increasing the retirement age must take into account the impact on the labor market, especially young workers.

It's not like today's announcement will increase to 62 in 2017. There must be a roadmap for gradual increase, only increasing for a few months each year so as not to affect the labor market too much.

Increasing the retirement age is being studied on the general level of workers and the workforce. "In terms of planning cadres and changing the age, this issue must be taken into account in the cadre field. Calculating between the capacity of cadres and planning for synchronization and suitability" - the Deputy Minister suggested.

In reality, many people in the National Assembly are retiring at the age of 60, while they are doing a good job. Therefore, we need to think broadly and not bureaucratize all activities.

“Or in some countries, people representing the people do not retire until they are 70 years old, and even 80 years old, they still participate if they are still healthy. The important issue is whether they are trusted or not,” the Deputy Minister argued.

According to Vietnamnet.vn