Circular No. 31/2007/TT-BLDTBXH guiding the adjustment of pension, social insurance allowance, and monthly allowance according to Decree No. 184/2007/NĐ-CP dated December 17, 2007 and Decree No. 166/2007/NĐ-CP dated November 16, 2007 of the Government.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for adjusting pensions, social insurance benefits, and monthly allowances pursuant to Decree No. 184/2007/ND-CP dated December 17, 2007, and Decree No. 166/2007/ND-CP dated November 16, 2007 of the Government

__________________________

Pursuant to Decree No. 184/2007/ND-CP dated December 17, 2007 of the Government on adjusting pensions, social insurance benefits, and monthly allowances for village cadres who have retired (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 184/2007/ND-CP) and Decree No. 166/2007/ND-CP dated November 16, 2007 of the Government stipulating the minimum wage (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 166/2007/ND-CP), the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs hereby provides guidelines for adjusting pensions, social insurance benefits, and monthly allowances as follows:

I. APPLICABLE OBJECTS

1. Civil servants, workers, employees, and laborers; military personnel, public security officers, and civil servants engaged in confidential work who were receiving pensions before January 1, 2008.

2. Village, ward, and town cadres as prescribed in Decree No. 121/2003/ND-CP dated October 21, 2003, and Decree No. 09/1998/ND-CP dated January 23, 1998 of the Government who were receiving pensions and monthly allowances before January 1, 2008.

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

4. Persons currently receiving monthly allowances for occupational accidents and diseases before January 1, 2008;

5. Persons currently receiving monthly allowances for dependents before January 1, 2008;

6. Persons currently receiving sick leave and maternity allowances before January 1, 2008, and whose entitlement period continues from January 1, 2008 onwards.

II. ADJUSTMENTS TO PENSIONS, SOCIAL INSURANCE BENEFITS, AND MONTHLY ALLOWANCES

1. For the objects specified in Clauses 1, 2, and 3 of Section I of this Circular, the adjustments to pensions, social insurance benefits, and monthly allowances shall be as follows:

Example 1: Mr. Nguyen Van A has a monthly pension of 1,191,000 VND in December 2007.

Mr. A's monthly pension from January 2008 will be calculated as follows:

1,191,000 VND/month x 1.2 = 1,429,200 VND/month

Example 2: Mr. Nguyen Van B, with the rank of Captain, has a monthly pension of 1,564,000 VND in December 2007.

Mr. B's monthly pension from January 2008 will be calculated as follows:

1,564,000 VND/month x 1.2 = 1,876,800 VND/month

Example 3: Mr. Vu Van C, a retired village cadre receiving monthly allowances under Decree No. 09/1998/ND-CP, has a monthly allowance of 582,000 VND in December 2007.

Mr. C's monthly allowance from January 2008 will be calculated as follows:

582,000 VND/month x 1.2 = 698,400 VND/month

Example 4: Mr. Nguyen Van D, who retired and receives monthly disability benefits, has a monthly disability benefit of 632,000 VND in December 2007.

Mr. D's monthly disability benefit from January 2008 will be calculated as follows:

632,000 VND/month x 1.2 = 758,400 VND/month

2. For the objects specified in Clause 4 of Section I of this Circular, the monthly allowances for occupational accidents and diseases shall be adjusted as follows:

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

Example 5: Ms. Nguyen Thi E, who suffered a workplace accident resulting in a 31% reduction in working capacity and has been receiving monthly allowances for occupational accidents since November 2006, had a monthly allowance of 180,000 VND in December 2007.

Ms. E's monthly allowance for occupational accidents from January 2008 will be adjusted as follows:

180,000 VND/month x 1.2 = 216,000 VND/month

Example 6: Mr. Nguyen Van G, who suffered a workplace accident resulting in a 40% reduction in working capacity and has been receiving monthly allowances for occupational accidents since May 2007, had a monthly allowance of 269,200 VND in December 2007.

Mr. G's monthly allowance for occupational accidents from January 2008 will be adjusted as follows:

269,200 VND/month x 1.2 = 323,040 VND/month

b) For those who have completed treatment and been discharged from hospital or received a conclusion from the Medical Examination Board (for cases not treated as inpatients) in 2007 but have not yet had their benefits resolved, the allowance will be calculated from the month of discharge or receipt of the Medical Examination Board's conclusion. From January 1, 2008, the monthly allowance for occupational accidents and diseases of such individuals will be adjusted according to point a of this clause.

c) For those who are currently receiving service allowances due to occupational accidents or diseases, from January 1, 2008, the monthly service allowance will be adjusted as follows:

3. For those receiving monthly allowances for dependents as specified in Clause 5 of Section I of this Circular, the allowances will be adjusted as follows:

a) The monthly allowance for dependents for those currently receiving monthly allowances for dependents:

b) For those who died in 2007 and whose dependents have not yet had their benefits resolved, the monthly allowance for dependents for the months prior to January 1, 2008, will be calculated at the minimum wage of 450,000 VND/month. From January 1, 2008, the monthly allowance for dependents will be calculated at the minimum wage of 540,000 VND/month.

4. For the objects specified in Clause 6 of Section I of this Circular, who are subject to state-prescribed salary systems and continue to be entitled to allowances from January 1, 2008 onwards, these allowances will be calculated based on the minimum wage of 540,000 VND/month.

5. Military personnel and public security officers who transferred to civilian jobs and then retired or stopped working due to disability, and who have already received job transfer subsidies as stipulated in Article 3 of Decision No. 812/TTg dated December 12, 1995 of the Prime Minister, from January 1, 2008, the job transfer subsidy will be calculated based on the minimum wage of 540,000 VND/month.

6. A person receiving a pension who lives alone as defined in Article 2 of Decision No. 812/TTg dated December 12, 1995 of the Government Prime Minister, if their pension amount calculated according to Clause 1 Section II of this Circular is lower than 810,000 VND/month, shall be adjusted to 810,000 VND/month from January 1, 2008.

7. A person receiving a pension, disability allowance, occupational accident allowance, or occupational disease allowance monthly before January 1, 2007, who was receiving a regional subsidy, shall have their regional subsidy calculated based on the general minimum wage of 540,000 VND/month from January 1, 2008.

III. IMPLEMENTATION

1. The Ministry of Labor - War Invalids and Social Affairs shall coordinate with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Defense, and the Ministry of Public Security to organize guidance and inspection of the implementation in accordance with the provisions of Decree No. 184/2007/NĐ-CP, Decree No. 166/2007/NĐ-CP, and this Circular.

2. People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities shall be responsible for directing the Department of Labor - War Invalids and Social Affairs and related competent 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 allowances, and monthly allowances as stipulated in Decree No. 184/2007/NĐ-CP, Decree No. 166/2007/NĐ-CP, and the guidance provided in this Circular; prepare and submit a report according to the attached form of this Circular to the Ministry of Labor - War Invalids and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Finance in the first month of the second quarter of 2008.

4. This Circular shall take effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette; the provisions of this Circular shall apply from January 1, 2008.

Any difficulties encountered during the implementation should be reported to the Ministry of Labor - War Invalids and Social Affairs for study and resolution./.