On the proposal to increase the retirement age of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs

(Baonghean) -The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs has proposed to the Government to increase the retirement age of highly qualified workers, managers and some special cases by 5 years, compared to current regulations. That is, workers and managers in that category will retire when men are 65 years old, women are 60 years old. The reason for increasing the retirement age, as stated by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, is "to deal with the risk of pension fund bankruptcy and to be in line with the trend of increasing life expectancy of Vietnamese people.

According to the assessment of the International Labor Organization (ILO), the current retirement age of Vietnamese people is early compared to life expectancy, and payments for social insurance and other policies are currently too high, causing the pension fund to start running a deficit from 2020 and be completely exhausted by 2029.

The proposal to increase the retirement age of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs is currently being discussed by many people. The majority believe that, for workers who are great scientists, dedicated to the people of the country, and to the scientific career, it is advisable to invite them to continue to stay to contribute more, to serve more for the common cause. As for other subjects, each case needs to be considered specifically to avoid possible negative consequences.

In reality, although Vietnamese people have increased their life expectancy, their physical strength is inherently weak. Men over 60 and women over 50 mostly have illnesses that adversely affect their ability to work, both mentally and physically. They often show signs of fatigue and lethargy, reducing their dynamism and creativity at work. On the other hand, Vietnamese people often work before the age of 18, so their work cycle according to the current retirement age is quite long.

Regarding the budget deficit, we can calculate specifically as follows: Suppose, the total salary to be paid to working workers is A, then if they retire, we have to pay them an amount of 75% of A. But at the same time, we have to recruit new people and continue to pay salaries to the number of people working in place of the retired ones, the amount is also approximately A. As a result, keeping people working for another 5 years is not much more beneficial. This problem should be solved by effective measures to develop the economy, fight waste, fight embezzlement and corruption, rather than extending the retirement age which can bring many consequences.

Firstly, extending the retirement age of parents means that their children will not have jobs, increasing the possibility of unemployment for young workers.

Second, increasing the retirement age may prolong the phenomenon of “the torn one gets in the way”, those who should return are “twisted” to stay, those who should stay are forced to return. The story of not pulling out the rotten tooth but the healthy tooth in the old downsizing process may be repeated! Some people are concerned that the increase in the retirement age may be due to those who have positions and power, and have “lucky” positions, so they want to cling on, each additional year is beneficial, the longer the better?!

Looking at the young generation, our children, many of whom are well educated, some of whom have graduated from two or three universities but still cannot find a job, should the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the National Assembly and the Government carefully consider this policy of extending the retirement age? Moreover, at the present time, negative social factors have not been completely eliminated, should we introduce a policy that contains many loopholes, where negative people can take advantage of the opportunity to "fish in troubled waters"?!

Litsea