Circular No. 15/2010/TT-BLDTBXH guiding the adjustment of pension, social insurance allowance, and monthly allowance according to Decree No. 29/2010/NĐ-CP dated March 25, 2010, and Decree No. 28/2010/NĐ-CP dated March 25, 2010 of the Government.

Article 1. Applicability:

1. Civil servants, employees, workers, officials, and laborers (including those with voluntary social insurance contribution periods, individuals who have retired from the social insurance fund of farmers in Nghe An Province according to Decision No. 41/2009/QĐ-TTg dated March 16, 2009 of the Prime Minister); military personnel, public security officers, and civil servants in confidential work positions who were receiving pensions before May 1, 2010.

2. Village, ward, and town cadres as specified in Decree No. 92/2009/NĐ-CP dated October 22, 2009, Decree No. 121/2003/NĐ-CP dated October 21, 2003, and Decree No. 09/1998/NĐ-CP dated January 23, 1998 of the Government who were receiving pensions and monthly allowances before May 1, 2010.

3. Individuals currently receiving monthly disability benefits; individuals currently receiving monthly allowances under Decision No. 91/2000/QĐ-TTg dated August 4, 2000 of the Prime Minister; rubber plantation workers currently receiving monthly allowances.

4. Individuals currently receiving monthly allowances for occupational accidents and diseases before May 1, 2010.

5. Individuals currently receiving monthly survivor benefits before May 1, 2010.

6. Individuals receiving sick leave and maternity benefits belonging to the category implementing state-prescribed salary systems and whose benefit entitlement period extends beyond May 1, 2010.

Article 2. Adjustment of Pensions, Social Insurance Benefits, and Monthly Allowances

1. The subjects specified in Clauses 1, 2, and 3 of Article 1 of this Circular who are currently receiving pensions and monthly allowances shall have their pension and monthly allowance levels adjusted as follows:

Example 1: Mr. A has a pension level in April 2010 of 1,725,759 VND/month.

Mr. A's pension level from May 2010 will be adjusted as follows:

1,725,759 VND/month x 1.123 = 1,938,027 VND/month

Example 2: Mr. B, rank Major, has a pension level in April 2010 of 2,266,236 VND/month.

Mr. B's pension level from May 2010 will be adjusted as follows:

2,266,236 VND/month x 1.123 = 2,544,983 VND/month

Example 3: Mr. C, a retired village cadre receiving monthly allowances under Decree No. 09/1998/NĐ-CP, has a monthly allowance level in April 2010 of 843,318 VND/month.

Mr. C's monthly allowance level from May 2010 will be adjusted as follows:

843,318 VND/month x 1.123 = 947,046 VND/month

Example 4: Mr. D, retired due to disability and receiving monthly disability benefits, has a monthly disability benefit level in April 2010 of 915,768 VND/month. Mr. D's monthly disability benefit level from May 2010 will be adjusted as follows:

915,768 VND/month x 1.123 = 1,028,407 VND/month

2. For the subjects specified in Clause 4 of Article 1 of this Circular, the monthly allowance for occupational accidents and diseases will be adjusted as follows:

a) For individuals currently receiving monthly allowances for occupational accidents and diseases:

Example 5: Mr. G, currently receiving monthly allowances for occupational accidents, has a monthly allowance level in April 2010 of 388,843 VND/month.

Mr. G's monthly allowance for occupational accidents from May 2010 will be adjusted as follows:

388,843 VND/month x 1.123 = 436,671 VND/month

b) For individuals suffering from occupational accidents and diseases who have completed treatment and been discharged from hospital or received a conclusion from the Medical Appraisal Board (for cases not treated as inpatients) within the period from May 1, 2009 to April 30, 2010 and have not yet had their benefits resolved, the monthly allowance for occupational accidents and diseases will still be calculated based on the minimum wage at the time of discharge or receipt of the Medical Appraisal Board's conclusion; from May 1, 2010, the allowance for these individuals will be adjusted according to point a of this clause.

c) For individuals suffering from occupational accidents and diseases currently receiving service allowances, from May 1, 2010, the monthly service allowance will be calculated based on the minimum wage of 730,000 VND/month.

3. For individuals receiving monthly survivor benefits as specified in Clause 5 of Article 1 of this Circular, the survivor benefit level will be adjusted as follows:

a) The survivor benefit level for dependents currently receiving monthly survivor benefits from May 1, 2010 will be calculated based on the minimum wage of 730,000 VND/month.

Example 6: Mr. H, currently receiving survivor benefits for dependents without direct caregivers at a monthly rate of 70% of the minimum wage. From May 1, 2009, Mr. H's survivor benefit level is:

70% x 730,000 VND/month = 511,000 VND/month.

b) For individuals who died between May 1, 2009 and April 30, 2010 and whose dependents have not yet had their survivor benefits resolved, the monthly survivor benefit level for the months prior to May 1, 2010 will be calculated based on the minimum wage of 650,000 VND/month. From May 1, 2010, the monthly survivor benefit level for these individuals will be adjusted according to point a of this clause.

4. For the subjects specified in Clause 6 of Article 1 of this Circular who continue to have remaining benefit entitlement periods from May 1, 2010 onwards, the benefit level for the remaining entitlement period will be calculated based on the minimum wage of 730,000 VND/month.

5. Military personnel and public security officers who transferred to civilian jobs and then retired or stopped working due to disability, who have already received job transfer allowances as stipulated in Article 3 of Decision No. 812/TTg dated December 12, 1995 of From May 1, 2010, the amount of the transfer allowance shall be calculated based on the general minimum wage of 730,000 VND per month according to the Prime Minister's regulations.

6. Persons receiving a pension who live alone as defined in Article 2 of Decision No. 812/TTg dated December 12, 1995 of the Prime Minister, if their adjusted pension under Clause 1 of this Article is lower than 1,095,000 VND per month, then from May 1, 2010, it shall be adjusted to 1,095,000 VND per month.

Article 3. Implementation Organization

1. The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs shall take the lead in coordinating with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of National Defense, and the Ministry of Public Security to inspect the implementation in accordance with the provisions of Decree No. 28/2010/NĐ-CP, Decree No. 29/2010/NĐ-CP, and this Circular.

2. People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities shall be responsible for directing the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and relevant agencies to inspect and urge the implementation of the provisions of this Circular.

3. The Vietnam Social Security shall be responsible for implementing the adjustment of pensions, social insurance benefits, and monthly allowances as stipulated in Decree No. 28/2010/NĐ-CP, Decree No. 29/2010/NĐ-CP, and the guidance provided in this Circular; and submit a report according to the attached form to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Finance by October 2010.

Article 4. Effectiveness

This Circular shall take effect 45 days from the date of issuance; the provisions of this Circular shall be implemented from May 1, 2010.