JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines for implementing certain provisions of Decree No. 150/2006/NĐ-CP

dated December 12, 2006 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Ordinance on Veterans

guiding the implementation of certain Articles of the Veterans Ordinance

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 Pursuant to the Ordinance on Veterans dated October 7, 2005;

Pursuant to Decree No. 150/2006/NĐ-CP dated December 12, 2006 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Ordinance on Veterans (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 150/2006/NĐ-CP);

After considering the opinions of relevant ministries, the Joint Ministry of Labour - War Invalids and Social Affairs, Association of Vietnamese Veterans, Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of National Defense have agreed to issue guidelines for implementing certain provisions of Decree No. 150/2006/NĐ-CP as follows: 

I. VETERANS

Veterans as defined in Article 2 of Decree No. 150/2006/NĐ-CP are hereby further clarified as follows regarding points b and c, Clause 3, Article 2 of Decree No. 150/2006/NĐ-CP:

Cadres, soldiers, militia, self-defense forces, and guerrillas concentrated (in the Northern region north of the 17th parallel from January 27, 1973 onwards, and in the Southern region south of the 17th parallel from April 30, 1975 onwards) who participated in combat units established or assigned tasks by competent authorities and recognized by the People's Committee at commune, ward, or town level.

II. REGIME AND POLICIES FOR VETERANS

1. Health Insurance Regime for Veterans as stipulated in Clause 6, Article 5 of Decree No. 150/2006/NĐ-CP

a) Veterans classified as poor according to standards set by the Government; veterans who participated in the resistance war before April 30, 1975, not covered under mandatory health insurance or other preferential health insurance benefits, shall be provided with health insurance cards by the State according to current regulations;

The rights of those entitled to health insurance benefits shall be implemented in accordance with the Health Insurance Regulations issued together with Decree No. 63/2005/NĐ-CP dated May 16, 2005 of the Government;

The monthly health insurance contribution rate is 3% of the national minimum wage, guaranteed by the State budget.

b) Application procedures for health insurance benefits (two sets of application files)

- Individuals applying for health insurance benefits.

Fill out the application form for health insurance benefits under the provisions of Decree No. 150/2006/NĐ-CP (Form 1a);

- Responsibilities of agencies and organizations.

+ The Association of Veterans at the commune, ward, or town level (hereinafter referred to as the commune level) receives the application forms of veteran individuals, takes the lead in coordinating with local agencies and organizations to review, confirm, and compile lists to report to the People's Committee at the same level;

+ The Chairman of the People's Committee at the commune level reviews and signs a letter requesting health insurance cards for veterans to be sent to the Department of Labour - War Invalids and Social Affairs (or the Department of Internal Affairs - Labour - War Invalids and Social Affairs) at the district, city, or provincial level (hereinafter referred to as the district level); (Form 2a, attached with List Form 4a);

+ The Department of Labour - War Invalids and Social Affairs at the district level leads in coordinating with the Association of Veterans at the same level to review and compile lists of requests for health insurance cards to report to the Chairman of the People's Committee at the district level for approval and signing letters to send to the Department of Labour - War Invalids and Social Affairs at the provincial level (hereinafter referred to as the provincial level); (Form 3a, attached with List Form 4a);

+ The Department of Labour - War Invalids and Social Affairs at the provincial level leads in coordinating with the Association of Veterans at the same level to compile and list applications for health insurance benefits to be submitted to the Chairman of the People's Committee at the provincial level for approval and issuance of decisions on health insurance benefits; (List Form 5a, Decision Form 6a);

+ Based on the decision on health insurance benefits issued by the Chairman of the People's Committee at the provincial level, the Department of Finance ensures funding to purchase health insurance cards; the Department of Labour - War Invalids and Social Affairs leads in coordinating with social insurance agencies to purchase and distribute health insurance cards promptly to veterans;

+ The Association of Veterans at the provincial level coordinates with the Department of Labour - War Invalids and Social Affairs and the Department of Finance to monitor the implementation of purchasing and distributing health insurance cards to veterans in accordance with current laws;

+ Annually, the Department of Labour - War Invalids and Social Affairs coordinates with the Association of Veterans at the same level to direct subordinate levels to develop plans for coordinated implementation of reviewing and adjusting lists to report to competent authorities for decisions on health insurance benefits for veterans.

2. Funeral Allowance Regime as stipulated in Clause 8, Article 5 of Decree No. 150/2006/NĐ-CP

a) Veterans who participated in the resistance war before April 30, 1975, upon death, if they do not qualify for funeral allowance under the Ordinance on Persons with Merit and the Social Insurance Law, the person organizing the funeral shall be entitled to funeral allowance according to current legal provisions;

The amount of funeral allowance is equivalent to that of persons participating in mandatory social insurance (10 months of the minimum wage), guaranteed by the State budget.

b) Application procedures for funeral allowance (two sets of application files)

- Relatives of the deceased fill out the application form for funeral allowance and submit it to the Association of Veterans at the commune level (Form 1b).

- Responsibilities of agencies and organizations.

- Responsibilities of agencies and organizations.

+ In cases where the deceased has no relatives, the agency, organization, or unit responsible for organizing the funeral fills out the application form for funeral allowance and submits it to the Association of Veterans at the commune level (Form 1b);

+ The Association of Veterans at the commune level confirms and compiles a list to report to the Chairman of the People's Committee at the same level;

+ The Chairman of the People's Committee at the commune level, based on reports from the Association of Veterans and the death certificate, signs a letter requesting funeral allowance to be sent to the Department of Labour - War Invalids and Social Affairs at the district level (Form 2b, attached with List Form 4b);

+ The Provincial Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs shall take the lead in coordinating with the Association of War Veterans at the same level to compile and prepare a list for the Director of the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs to issue a decision on funeral allowance benefits (Model List 5b, Model Decision 6b);

+ The Department of Finance shall ensure the funding source; the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs shall take the lead in coordinating with the social insurance agency to implement the payment of funeral allowances to relatives or representatives of organizations, units;

3. Funeral arrangements for War Veterans upon death shall be carried out in accordance with Clause 8, Article 5 of Decree No. 150/2006/NĐ-CP;

a) War Veterans and members of the Association of War Veterans, when deceased, shall be organized for funerals by local authorities, agencies, units, mass organizations in coordination with the Association of War Veterans and their families;

b) Funeral rites and levels of organization shall be based on Decree No. 62/2001/NĐ-CP dated September 12, 2001 of the Government and Circular Joint No. 114/2005/TTLT-BQP-BNV dated August 1, 2005 of the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Home Affairs, or applied according to specific conditions of the locality to organize appropriately;

4. Subsidies for the Chairperson and Deputy Chairpersons of the Association of War Veterans in agencies, organizations, and units shall be implemented in accordance with Clause 1 and Clause 2, Article 10 of Decree No. 150/2006/NĐ-CP;

a) Provinces and centrally-administered cities that have the Association of War Veterans' upper-level organizations established under the Party Committee of provincial-level agencies shall be allocated dedicated staff for association work; in cases where dedicated staff cannot be assigned, part-time staff shall receive a subsidy equal to 10% of their current salary plus position allowance and seniority bonus (if applicable). For Chairpersons and Deputy Chairpersons of the Association of War Veterans in central and local agencies, organizations, and units who concurrently hold association positions, the subsidy for Chairpersons shall be 7%, and for Deputy Chairpersons, it shall be 5% of their current salary plus position allowance and seniority bonus (if applicable);

b) Concurrent subsidies shall be paid together with monthly salaries and shall not be used to calculate contributions to social insurance and health insurance;

When ceasing to perform association work, the concurrent subsidy shall cease from the following month;

5. Benefits upon cessation of association work shall be regulated in accordance with Clause 5, Article 10 of Decree No. 150/2006/NĐ-CP;

a) Recipients of benefits upon cessation of association work;

War Veterans currently receiving pensions, social insurance benefits, and monthly disability benefits who cease performing association work shall be entitled to the following benefits:

- Central Association of War Veterans Vietnam Chairpersons and Deputy Chairpersons elected by the Executive Board;

War Veterans appointed, recruited, or transferred into the staffing of the Central Association of War Veterans Vietnam and its affiliated units;

- Provincial Association of War Veterans Chairpersons and Deputy Chairpersons elected by the Executive Board;

War Veterans appointed, recruited, or transferred into the staffing of the Provincial Association of War Veterans;

- District Association of War Veterans Chairpersons and Deputy Chairpersons elected by the Executive Board;

War Veterans appointed, recruited, or transferred into the staffing of the District Association of War Veterans;

- Commune Association of War Veterans Chairpersons and Deputy Chairpersons elected by the Executive Board;

b) Calculation of benefits upon cessation of association work;

- For those receiving salaries:

- For those receiving concurrent subsidies (Deputy Chairpersons of Commune, Ward, Town Associations):

c) The period of association work for calculating benefits is the total continuous working time from the date of election, appointment, recruitment, or transfer until the decision to cease association work is issued;

d) The salary and concurrent subsidy for calculating the cessation benefit is the current salary and concurrent subsidy of the last month before ceasing association work at the level of the Association where they were working;

đ) Procedures and authority to issue decisions to cease association work to pay cessation benefits for War Veterans at all levels shall be as follows:

- Central Association of War Veterans Vietnam Chairpersons and Deputy Chairpersons shall be decided to cease association work by the competent authority after obtaining the opinion of the War Veterans Party Group and the resolution of the Central Association's Executive Board;

War Veterans performing association work at the Central Association and its affiliated units shall base their decisions to cease association work on the opinions of the Central Association Party Committee, the War Veterans Party Group, and the Central Association of War Veterans Vietnam Chairperson;

- Provincial Association of War Veterans Chairpersons and Deputy Chairpersons shall base their decisions to cease association work on the opinions of the provincial or city party committee, the War Veterans Party Group, and the Provincial Association of War Veterans Executive Board, and the Central Association of War Veterans Vietnam Chairperson;

War Veterans performing association work at the Provincial Association of War Veterans shall base their decisions to cease association work on the opinions of the Provincial Association of War Veterans Party Group and the Provincial Association of War Veterans Chairperson;

- District Association of War Veterans Chairpersons and Deputy Chairpersons shall base their decisions to cease association work on the opinions of the local party committee, the District Association of War Veterans Executive Board, and the Provincial Association of War Veterans Chairperson;

War Veterans performing association work at the District Association of War Veterans shall base their decisions to cease association work on the opinions of the local party committee and the District Association of War Veterans Chairperson;

- Commune Association of War Veterans Chairpersons and Deputy Chairpersons shall base their decisions to cease association work on the opinions of the Commune Association of War Veterans Executive Board, the local party committee, and the District Association of War Veterans Chairperson;

e) All levels of the Association of War Veterans shall be responsible for paying cessation benefits to managed cadres when War Veterans have decisions to cease association work;

6. Funding sources to ensure benefits;

a) Funds for purchasing health insurance cards and funeral allowances for War Veterans shall be guaranteed by the state budget according to the current state budget classification.

b) The subsidy funding for War Veterans when ceasing to work for the War Veterans Association from the state budget according to the current budget classification of the state.

III. ESTABLISHING THE BUDGET PROJECTIONS AND FINAL ACCOUNTS FOR EXPENSES IMPLEMENTING POLICIES AND REGULATIONS FOR WAR VETERANS 

1. Based on the policies and regulations for War Veterans stipulated in Decree No. 150/2006/NĐ-CP and the guidance provided in this Circular, each year, War Veterans Associations at all levels, War Veterans Associations within agencies, organizations, units, and enterprises shall prepare budget projections for expenses ensuring policies and regulations for War Veterans to be included in their annual budget projections and submit them to the financial authorities at the same level for consolidation into the state budget for approval by the competent authority.

2. The allocation of budget projections and the reporting of final accounts for implementing regulations for War Veterans shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the State Budget Law and other guiding documents currently in effect.

IV. IMPLEMENTATION ORGANIZATION

1. This Circular takes effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette; funeral expense regulations and subsidy regulations for War Veterans when ceasing to work for the Association will be implemented from the date Decree No. 150/2006/NĐ-CP comes into effect; health insurance regulations will be implemented from the date this Circular takes effect.

2. Ministries, sectors, the Vietnam War Veterans Association, People's Committees at all levels within their respective duties and powers shall be responsible for organizing implementation in accordance with the guidance provided in this Circular.

3. In the course of implementation, if there are any difficulties, localities, agencies, organizations, and units are requested to report to the Joint Ministry for study, consideration, and resolution.

Place of Receipt:

- Central Party Committee Secretariat;

- Central Party Office and Party Committees;

- Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Ministers;

- Ministries, agencies equivalent to ministries, and agencies under the Government;

- Provincial People's Councils, City People's Committees directly under the Central Government;

- National Assembly's Office;

- President's Office;

- Supreme People's Court;

- Supreme People's Procuracy;

- State Audit Office;

- Vietnam Social Security;

- DEPARTMENT OF LEGAL DOCUMENT REVIEW - MINISTRY OF JUSTICE;

- War Veterans Associations of provinces and centrally governed cities;

- Department of Finance; Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, Treasury Office of the province and centrally governed city; Provincial Military Command;

- Official Gazette;

- Government website;

- Websites of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of National Defense;

- To be filed: VT Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, Vietnam War Veterans Association, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of National Defense.