Joint Circular No. 32/2000/TTLT/BTC-BVHTT guiding the financial management regime for non-state cultural institutions.

JOINT CIRCULAR

||| Guidelines for adjusting pension levels and social insurance benefits in accordance with Decree No. 175/1999/ND-CP dated December 15, 1999 of the Government

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Implementing Decree No. 175/1999/ND-CP dated December 15, 1999 of the Government on adjusting the minimum wage level, benefit levels, and living expenses for those receiving pensions, allowances, and living expenses from the State budget, after reaching consensus with the Central Organization Commission, the Government Civil Service Management Board, and the Joint Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs - Finance, the guidelines for adjusting pension levels and social insurance benefits are as follows:

I. APPLICABLE OBJECTS:

The subjects entitled to have their pension levels and social insurance benefits adjusted according to Clause 3, Article 1 of Decree No. 175/1999/ND-CP dated December 15, 1999 of the Government include: persons receiving pensions (including civil servant and military pensions, police pensions); disability benefits; rubber worker allowances; sickness and maternity benefits; occupational injury and disease benefits; survivor benefits; and village and ward cadres who have retired and are receiving allowances under Decree No. 09/1998/ND-CP dated January 23, 1998 of the Government.

II. CALCULATION OF ADJUSTED PENSION LEVELS AND SOCIAL INSURANCE BENEFITS:

The subjects mentioned above in Section I shall have their pension levels and social insurance benefits recalculated as follows:

1. For those currently receiving pensions; disability benefits; occupational injury and disease benefits; rubber worker allowances; monthly survivor benefits; and allowances for village and ward cadres as stipulated in Clause a, Article 4 of Decree No. 09/1998/ND-CP dated January 23, 1998 of the Government before January 1, 2000, the pension or allowance level will be recalculated as follows:

2. For those starting from January 1, 2000 and thereafter begin to receive pensions or social insurance benefits, they shall enjoy the following:

a. Persons retiring with a period of social insurance contributions based on wage levels set out in the state salary scale shall have their pension level calculated based on the adjusted wage levels according to the minimum wage of 180,000 VND/month as prescribed in Decree No. 175/1999/ND-CP dated December 15, 1999.

Example:

A cadre retiring in February 2000 had the following salary contribution history for the last five years before retirement:

- From February 1995 to January 1998, the wage coefficient is 3.35

- From February 1998 to January 2000, the wage coefficient is 3.63

The method for calculating the average wage contribution to social insurance as the basis for calculating the pension is as follows:

- From February 1995 to January 1998, the total wage amount calculated according to the coefficient:

3.35 x 180,000 VND x 36 months = 21,708,000 VND

- From February 1998 to January 2000, the total wage amount calculated according to the coefficient:

3.63 x 180,000 VND x 24 = 15,681,600 VND

The total wage contribution to social insurance over the last five years before retirement is: 21,708,000 VND + 15,681,600 VND = 37,389,600 VND

The average wage contribution to social insurance as the basis for calculating the pension is:

37,389,600 VND : 60 months = 623,160 VND

b. Persons retiring with a period of social insurance contributions based on both wage levels set out in the state salary scale and wage levels not included in the state salary scale shall have the average wage contribution over the last five years in the public sector calculated based on the minimum wage of 180,000 VND/month for the period of social insurance contributions based on the state salary scale.

c. For village and ward cadres who have retired and are receiving allowances as stipulated in Article 4 of Decree No. 09/1998/ND-CP dated January 23, 1998 of the Government, the allowance level shall be calculated based on the adjusted living expense level as prescribed in Circular No. 54/1999/TTLB-BTC dated December 29, 1999 of the Joint Office of the Government Civil Service Management Board - Ministry of Finance.

d. Persons receiving sickness, maternity, occupational injury, and disease benefits, one-time social insurance benefits, shall have their benefit level calculated based on the wage or living expense level calculated according to the minimum wage of 180,000 VND.

Specifically, for persons suffering from occupational injuries or diseases before January 1, 2000, or those who retired and are receiving one-time or sickness and maternity benefits before January 1, 2000 but still have entitlement periods remaining, the benefits shall be calculated as follows:

- For persons suffering from occupational injuries or diseases treated and discharged before January 1, 2000, the one-time benefit shall be paid at the December 1999 benefit level. In cases where treatment began before January 1, 2000 and discharge occurred after January 1, 2000, the benefits shall be paid at the recalculated benefit level based on the minimum wage of 180,000 VND/month.

- For persons who retired and are receiving sickness and maternity benefits before January 1, 2000 but still have entitlement periods remaining after 2000, the benefit level for periods of rest from January 1, 2000 onwards shall be calculated based on the minimum wage of 180,000 VND/month.

- For persons who died before January 1, 2000 but whose funeral expenses and one-time benefits have not yet been paid, these shall still be paid at the December 1999 benefit level.

- For persons who retired and are receiving one-time social insurance benefits before January 2000 but whose decision to receive such benefits was made in January 2000 or later by the Social Insurance Authority, the benefit shall be calculated based on the minimum wage of 180,000 VND/month.

e. For persons retiring or losing work capacity who are military personnel or police officers entitled to additional benefits as prescribed in Decision No. 812/TTg dated December 12, 1995, from January 1, 2000, the additional benefit shall be calculated based on the minimum wage of 180,000 VND/month.

f. For persons receiving pensions who live alone and are entitled to a benefit of 180,000 VND/month as prescribed in Decision No. 812/TTg dated December 12, 1995 of the Prime Minister, from January 1, 2000, this benefit shall be adjusted to 270,000 VND/month.

g. Any regional allowance (if applicable) for persons receiving pensions or social insurance benefits shall be calculated based on the minimum wage of 180,000 VND/month from January 1, 2000.

III. IMPLEMENTATION

1. The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs shall coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to guide, inspect, and resolve any difficulties encountered by ministries, sectors, localities, and grassroots units during the implementation of this Circular.

2. The Ministry of Finance shall review and allocate the pension fund and additional allowances for beneficiaries receiving social insurance from the State budget.

3. The Vietnam Social Security shall direct units to implement and prepare reports as follows:

a. Prepare a report on the number of beneficiaries and the increased pension and social insurance benefit fund that the state budget must cover, to be submitted to the Ministry of Finance for review and forwarded to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs by February 2000.

b. Implement adjustments and payments for additional increases for individuals receiving pensions and social insurance benefits, including those paid from the State budget and those paid from the social insurance fund. Implement social insurance contributions based on the adjusted minimum wage as stipulated in Decree No. 175/1999/NĐ-CP dated December 15, 1999 of the Government.

4. Ministries, central agencies, People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities shall direct agencies, units, Departments of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs, and Departments of Finance and Prices to inspect and urge the implementation of the provisions set forth in this Circular.

5. This Circular takes effect from January 1, 2000.

Any difficulties encountered during implementation should be reported to the Joint Ministry for study and resolution.