Circular No. 11/TBXH guiding the calculation of allowances pursuant to Decision No. 134-HĐBT and Decision No. 135-HĐBT dated August 17, 1982, of the Council of Ministers

CIRCULAR

MINISTRY OF VETERANS AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS DECREE NO. 11/TBXH
SEPTEMBER 25, 1982 GUIDELINES FOR CALCULATING ALLOWANCES
PURSUANT TO DECREE NO. 134-HĐBT AND DECREE NO. 135-HĐBT
AUGUST 17, 1982 OF THE STATE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS

On August 17, 1982, the State Council of Ministers issued Decree No. 134-HĐBT and Decree No. 135-HĐBT to incorporate the temporary allowance stipulated in Decision No. 219-CP dated May 29, 1981 of the State Council of Ministers into the current basic salary to form a new basic salary, and to add an additional 10 dong per person per month to the current living expenses of non-commissioned officers and soldiers.

The Ministry of Veterans and Social Affairs provides guidelines for calculating allowances based on the new basic salary and new living expenses for those receiving allowances managed by the veterans and social affairs sector as follows.

I. CALCULATION OF ALLOWANCES FOR THOSE RECEIVING ALLOWANCES
FROM AUGUST 1, 1982 AND THEREAFTER

1. Those who start receiving any of the following types of allowances from August 1, 1982 onwards shall have their allowances calculated based on the new basic salary or new living expenses and shall not enjoy the temporary allowance under Decision No. 219-CP, Circular No. 18-TBXH dated June 6, 1981, Decision No. 105-HĐBT dated June 25, 1982, and Circular No. 7-TBXH dated July 16, 1982.

- Retirement allowance, disability allowance (including allowance for those who stop working due to workplace accidents or occupational diseases).

- One-time disability allowance for those receiving salary or living expenses, monthly disability allowance for those receiving salary after being discharged from hospital from August 1, 1982 onwards.

- Monthly war veteran allowance, monthly demobilization allowance for military personnel receiving salary.

- War widow's allowance for war heroes who were receiving salary or living expenses and died from August 1, 1982 onwards; allowance for dependents of workers, officials, and military personnel who died from August 1, 1982 onwards.

However, those receiving a fixed amount of monthly allowance as follows shall not be subject to calculation of allowances based on the new basic salary or new living expenses but shall continue to receive them as they currently do:

- Retirement allowance at a fixed amount according to Circular No. 11-NV dated September 20, 1966 of the Ministry of Interior (now the Ministry of Veterans and Social Affairs).

- Allowance for dependents of deceased persons at a fixed amount according to Decree No. 10-CP dated June 18, 1976 of the State Council of Ministers.

- Allowance for dependents of war heroes who did not receive salary or living expenses.

- Disability allowance, war veteran allowance, demobilization allowance according to Article 6 of Decision No. 21-HĐBT dated August 8, 1981.

- Allowance according to Decision No. 206-CP dated May 30, 1979 and Decision No. 174-CP dated June 4, 1980 of the State Council of Ministers.

2. To correspond with allowances calculated based on the new basic salary or new living expenses, the following amounts are now doubled:

a) For dependent allowances, the amounts of 9 dong, 12 dong, and 15 dong of the fixed monthly allowance for deceased persons and 10 dong, 15 dong, and 18 dong of the fixed monthly allowance for war heroes.

- The amount of 35 dong for necessary expenses for individuals in the family who are still working or retired, or stopped working due to loss of labor capacity and receive monthly allowances.

- The amounts of 18 dong, 20 dong, and 22 dong representing the average low income per capita to consider for monthly dependent allowances.

b) For retirement allowance, disability allowance, and disability allowance:

- The amount of 35 dong, the minimum monthly retirement allowance.

- The amount of 25 dong, the minimum monthly disability allowance and disability allowance for war heroes grade 5/8 or higher returning home.

- 10 dong/month and 12 dong/month, the minimum monthly allowance for assistance due to disability requiring service for war heroes grades 6, 7, and 8.

3. Some points to note:

a) For those who retire or stop working due to loss of labor capacity (including those who stop working due to workplace accidents or occupational diseases) if they have regional allowances and other benefits, the monthly allowance shall be calculated as follows:

- Basic allowance, preferential allowance, additional 5% allowance, and allowance for disability requiring service shall be calculated based on the new basic salary plus the regional allowance based on the new basic salary.

- Allowance for war heroes with commendable actions, allowance according to Article 6 of Decision No. 21-HĐBT (code 21/178) and according to Article 1, Point 2 of Decision No. 106-HĐBT dated June 28, 1982 shall only be calculated based on the new basic salary.

The control levels of allowances calculated based on the new basic salary (92.25 dong/month; 172.5 dong/month; 242.25 dong/month) remain consistent with the provisions in Circular No. 18-TBXH dated June 6, 1981 and Circular No. 712-TBXH dated June 20, 1981 of the Ministry of Veterans and Social Affairs.

b) Monthly disability allowance calculated based on the new basic salary includes allowance for disability requiring service and allowance for commendable actions, if applicable.

c) Those who start receiving allowances from August 1, 1982 and are subject to calculation of allowances based on the new basic salary or new living expenses but have not yet received the correct amount shall be recalculated from August 1, 1982.

d) For those who died before August 1, 1982 or were injured and discharged from hospital before August 1, 1982 and are now confirmed as war heroes or war disabled, the allowance system will be applied according to the regulations for each period prior to that date, not according to Decree No. 134-HĐBT and Decree No. 135-HĐBT dated August 17, 1982. In the case of those confirmed as war disabled and entitled to a salary from grade 5/8 or higher, starting from August 1, 1982, the monthly allowance shall be calculated based on the new basic salary as specified in point 2, part II below.

II. ADJUSTMENT OF ALLOWANCES FOR RETIREES, THOSE STOPPED WORKING DUE TO LOSS OF LABOR CAPACITY, AND WAR DISABLED RECIPIENTS OF SALARIES
AT GRADE 5/8 OR HIGHER, RECEIVING MONTHLY ALLOWANCES
FROM JULY 31, 1982 AND PRIOR

1. Retirees, those who stopped working due to loss of labor capacity (including those receiving termination allowances due to workplace accidents from grade 6/8 or higher or occupational diseases from grade 5/7 or higher), if they have regional allowances, the regional allowances shall be recalculated based on the old basic salary plus the temporary allowance according to Decision No. 219-CP dated May 29, 1981.

Types of basic allowances, preferential allowances, additional 5% allowances, and allowances for disability requiring service shall be recalculated based on the old basic salary plus the temporary allowance according to Decision No. 219-CP and the newly recalculated regional allowance.

2. War invalids and persons enjoying policies similar to war invalids from class 5/8 upwards, with old basic salaries under 115 dong, shall have their monthly disability allowances (including both allowances for personal assistance and for courageous actions if applicable) adjusted based on their old basic salary plus the temporary salary supplement according to Decision No. 219-CP.

3. The adjustment of allowances for those mentioned in points 1 and 2 above shall be implemented from August 1, 1982 onwards.

III. IMPLEMENTATION OF CALCULATING ALLOWANCES IN ACCORDANCE WITH
DECISIONS NO. 134-HĐBT AND NO. 135-HĐBT

1. The list of individuals eligible for allowance adjustments according to Decisions No. 134-HĐBT and No. 135-HĐBT mentioned in Part II of this Circular must be compiled at the district or county Veterans and Social Affairs Office, cross-checked accurately against files kept at the Department, and must be reviewed and signed by the head of the Department of Veterans and Social Affairs (replacing the adjustment allowance decision), before being used as a basis for issuing adjustment allowance notification letters and recording increased allowance claims for each individual. The adjustment of allowances for war invalids meeting the criteria within the rehabilitation facilities of the Ministry and provinces will be guided separately.

The increase in allowance amounts for September, October, November, and December 1982 shall be paid out in a lump sum to the beneficiaries, no later than December 1982; starting from the first quarter of 1983, the allowance increase shall be paid monthly.

2. In cases where individuals eligible for allowance adjustments according to Decisions No. 134-HĐBT and No. 135-HĐBT were issued relocation certificates before October 31, 1982, but had not yet received allowances according to Decisions No. 134-HĐBT and No. 135-HĐBT, the Departments of Veterans and Social Affairs at the destination locations shall be responsible for resolving these issues.

For individuals issued relocation certificates from November 1, 1982 onwards, the Departments of Veterans and Social Affairs at the departure locations shall settle the monthly allowance increase according to Decisions No. 134-HĐBT and No. 135-HĐBT for the months during which they received allowances at the departure location (including the initial allowance months).

3. For individuals who retired and began receiving monthly retirement or labor disability allowances from August 1982, and whose allowance books were issued and signed by the Ministry before October 31, 1982, the Departments of Veterans and Social Affairs at the destination locations, in addition to issuing monthly allowance claim forms based on new basic salaries, must also pay additional allowance increases according to new basic salaries for the initial allowance months and the first quarter as stipulated for them.

As for individuals whose allowance books were issued and signed by the Ministry from November 1, 1982 onwards, the additional allowance increases according to new basic salaries for the initial allowance months and the first quarter shall all be paid by the Ministry.

Calculating allowances according to Decisions No. 134-HĐBT and No. 135-HĐBT is a time-consuming task that requires meticulous and careful handling. To implement effectively, the Departments of Veterans and Social Affairs need to draw lessons from calculating allowances according to Decision No. 219-CP, and coordinate well with calculating allowances according to Decisions No. 105-HĐBT and No. 106-HĐBT. Efforts should be made to ensure accuracy, timely compliance, and avoid inconvenience to beneficiaries; it should not affect the established practice of "delivering allowances personally, in full amount, and on schedule." There must be plans to disseminate information to policy beneficiaries and closely cooperate with banking authorities at all levels.

Based on this Circular, the Planning and Finance Department of the Ministry of Veterans and Social Affairs will provide detailed guidance on the procedures for calculating allowances.