Joint Circular No. 21/2001/TTLT/BLDTBXH-BTC guiding the allowance system for those who have reached retirement age at the time of ceasing to receive monthly disability allowance.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines on the allowance for those who have reached retirement age in

cessation time point of monthly disability allowance

Implementing Decision No. 91/2000/QĐ-TTg dated August 4, 2000 of the Prime Minister regarding allowances for those who have reached retirement age at the time of cessation of monthly disability allowance, the Joint Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs - Ministry of Finance provides guidance as follows:

I- APPLICABLE OBJECTS

1-Those currently receiving monthly disability allowance with a term as stipulated in Decision 60/HĐBT dated March 1, 1990 of the Council of Ministers (now the Government) who, at the time of cessation of allowance, have reached retirement age (males aged 60 or older, females aged 55 or older) and have a minimum of 15 years of actual service (service years calculated according to the calendar, excluding additional years converted based on coefficients).

2-Those who ceased receiving monthly disability allowance as stipulated in Decision 60/HĐBT mentioned above during the period from July 1, 1990 to June 30, 2000, were still alive on July 1, 2000, and at the time of cessation of allowance had reached retirement age (males aged 60 or older, females aged 55 or older) and have a minimum of 15 years of actual service (service years calculated according to the calendar, excluding additional years converted based on coefficients).

The provisions of this Circular shall not be implemented for those who continue to receive monthly disability allowance as stipulated in Article 2 of Decision 60/HĐBT dated March 1, 1990 of the Council of Ministers (now the Government).

II- AMOUNT OF ALLOWANCE, METHOD OF RECEIVING ALLOWANCE

1- Amount of Allowance: 100,000 VND/month, uniformly applied to the subjects mentioned in points 1 and 2 of Section I above, without considering the amount of previous disability allowance received.

In addition to the 100,000 VND/month allowance, the recipient also enjoys the health insurance benefits as prescribed in Decree No. 58/1998/NĐ-CP dated August 13, 1998 of the Government. The health insurance contribution for each allowance recipient is 3% of the minimum wage, guaranteed by the State budget through the Vietnam Social Security Agency. When the allowance recipient dies, the person responsible for burial receives funeral expenses equivalent to eight months' minimum wage, as stipulated in Article 31 of the Social Insurance Regulations issued together with Decree No. 12/CP dated January 26, 1995 of the Government.

2- Method of Receiving Allowance

At the end of the accounting period, determine the difference between the sales volume of foreign exchange sold (Those currently receiving monthly disability allowance are eligible to receive the allowance when they meet the following two conditions:

At the time of cessation of monthly disability allowance, males are 60 years old or older, females are 55 years old or older.

Have a minimum of 15 years of actual service (calculated according to the calendar).

The start date for receiving the 100,000 VND/month allowance is calculated from the month of cessation of monthly disability allowance as prescribed in Decision 60/HĐBT dated March 1, 1990 of the Council of Ministers (now the Government).

Example 1: Ms. Nguyen Thi A was born in September 1945, has 15 years of actual service (including 2 years converted based on coefficients, totaling 17 years). Ms. A stopped working and began receiving monthly disability allowance in March 1992, with an allowance period of 8 years and 6 months, and received her last monthly disability allowance in August 2000 at 190,000 VND. According to Decision 60/HĐBT dated March 1, 1990, Ms. A ceased receiving monthly disability allowance in September 2000, but since she was already 55 years old at that time, she is entitled to receive 100,000 VND/month from September 2000.

Example 2: Mr. Tran Van B was born in April 1942, has 16 years of actual service (including 2 years and 6 months converted based on coefficients, totaling 18 years and 6 months). Mr. B stopped working and began receiving monthly disability allowance in June 1991, with an allowance period of 9 years and 3 months, and received his last monthly disability allowance in August 2000. In September 2000, which is the cessation date, Mr. B had not yet reached retirement age (58 years old), so he is not entitled to receive 100,000 VND/month.

Example 3Mr. Nguyen Van C was born in July 1940, has 15 years of actual service (no converted time). Mr. C stopped working and began receiving monthly disability allowance in February 1993, with an allowance period of 7 years and 6 months, and received his last monthly disability allowance in July 2000 at 240,000 VND/month. In August 2000, at the cessation date, Mr. C had reached retirement age (60 years old), so he is entitled to receive 100,000 VND/month from August 2000.

Example 4: Ms. Bui Thi N was born in April 1944, has 14 years of actual service (including 1 year and 8 months converted based on coefficients, totaling 15 years and 8 months). Ms. N stopped working and began receiving monthly disability allowance in June 1993, with an allowance period of 7 years and 10 months, and received her last monthly disability allowance in March 2001. In April 2001, which is the cessation date, Ms. N had reached retirement age, but because she did not have 15 years of actual service, she is not entitled to receive 100,000 VND/month.

b-Those who ceased receiving monthly disability allowance during the period from July 1, 1990 to June 30, 2000, and were still alive on July 1, 2000, if they meet the conditions specified in item a above, will be entitled to receive the allowance. The allowance start date is calculated from July 1, 2000.

Example 1: Mr. Nguyen Van D was born in May 1934, has 15 years of actual service (including 3 years converted, totaling 18 years). Mr. D stopped working and began receiving monthly disability allowance in May 1986, received his last monthly disability allowance in April 1994 at 170,000 VND, and ceased receiving monthly disability allowance in May 1994 when he had reached retirement age (60 years old). On July 1, 2000, Mr. D was still alive.

Mr. D is eligible to receive 100,000 VND/month from July 1, 2000.

Example 2: Ms. Phan Thanh H was born in September 1940, with 15 years of actual work experience (including an additional 2 years converted according to a coefficient, totaling 17 years). Ms. H ceased working and received monthly disability allowance from March 1986 for a period of 8 years and 6 months of allowance, receiving her last allowance in August 1994 at a rate of 190,000 VND. In September 1994, when she stopped receiving disability allowance, Ms. H had not yet reached retirement age (54 years old). As of July 1, 2000, Ms. H was still alive.

In Ms. H's case, although she had 15 years of actual work experience, at the time she stopped receiving disability allowance, she had not yet reached retirement age. Therefore, Ms. H did not meet the conditions to receive the allowance stipulated in Point 1 of this Section.

Example 3: Mr. Nguyen Van K was born in April 1936, with 13 years and 6 months of actual work experience (including an additional year and 10 months converted according to a coefficient, totaling 15 years and 4 months). Mr. K ceased working and received monthly disability allowance from August 1989 for a period of 7 years and 2 months, receiving his last disability allowance in September 1996. At the time he stopped receiving disability allowance in October 1996, Mr. K had reached retirement age (60 years old). As of July 1, 2000, Mr. K was still alive.

In Mr. K's case, although he had reached retirement age at the time he stopped receiving disability allowance, his actual work experience was less than 15 years. Therefore, Mr. K did not meet the conditions to receive the allowance stipulated in Point 1 above.

III- DOCUMENTS AND PROCEDURES FOR REVIEWING ENTITLEMENT TO ALLOWANCE

1-The documents for claiming the allowance include:

An application for allowance certified by the local authority where the applicant resides (for those who ceased receiving disability allowance from July 1, 1990 to before July 1, 2000).

Documents for claiming disability allowance.

Decision to cease receiving disability allowance.

Decision of the Director of the Social Insurance Department of the province or centrally-administered city regarding allowances for individuals who have reached retirement age at the time they ceased receiving monthly disability allowance.

2-Procedures for reviewing entitlement:

For those currently receiving monthly disability allowance, the provincial or centrally-administered city social insurance department is responsible for reviewing the managed files, compiling a list of individuals meeting the conditions to receive the allowance stipulated in Section I of this Circular. The Director of the provincial or centrally-administered city social insurance department will review and issue a decision to adjust the current disability allowance to a monthly allowance of 100,000 VND.

For those who ceased receiving monthly disability allowance between July 1, 1990 and before July 1, 2000, the district or county social insurance department will base their decisions on the cessation of allowance, compile a list of individuals still alive as of July 1, 2000, and cross-check with the disability files managed by the social insurance agency to accurately identify those eligible for the allowance. The Director of the provincial or centrally-administered city social insurance department will review and issue a decision to provide a monthly allowance of 100,000 VND to these individuals and be responsible for such decisions.

IV- FUNDS TO ENSURE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ALLOWANCE:

The funds to implement the allowance for the subjects specified in Section I of this Circular shall be guaranteed by the central budget through the social insurance agency.

V. IMPLEMENTATION

1-The People's Committee of the province or centrally-administered city under the Central Government directs all levels of government, the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Department of Finance and Price Control, and related departments and agencies to inspect the implementation of Decision No. 91/2000/QĐ-TTg dated August 4, 2000 issued by the Prime Minister and this Circular at the local level.

2-The Ministry of Finance allocates funds from the central budget directly to the Vietnam Social Security for the subjects mentioned in Section I of this Circular based on the annual budget of the Vietnam Social Security.

3-The Vietnam Social Security organizes the implementation and instructs the social security departments of provinces and centrally-administered cities to implement allowances for the subjects specified in this Circular based on the disability files they manage; they will compile and report the number of beneficiaries and the amount of funds disbursed (implemented by the social security departments of provinces and centrally-administered cities) to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Finance as the basis for allocating funds from the state budget and annually settle accounts with the Ministry of Finance according to the current regulations.

4-The Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs collaborates with the social security agencies of provinces and centrally-administered cities to submit to the People's Committee for consideration and decision on hardship allowances for those who ceased receiving monthly disability allowance but do not fall within the scope of the allowance stipulated in Points 1 and 2 of Section I of this Circular, when reaching retirement age (men aged 60 and over and women aged 55 and over) and facing significant difficulties in living. The level of hardship allowance is determined by the Chairman of the People's Committee of the province or centrally-administered city based on the local budget balance capacity.

This Circular takes effect from July 1, 2000. Those who meet the conditions to receive the allowance as stipulated in Subparagraph a and Subparagraph b of Point 2 of Section II above, if they receive the allowance late due to procedural delays, shall be entitled to back payment from the date they were entitled to the allowance under this Circular.

During the implementation process, any issues should be reported to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Finance for resolution./.