Decree No. 52/2025/NĐ-CP Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of Decree No. 21/2009/NĐ-CP dated February 23, 2009, of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Officers of the Vietnam People's Army regarding the regime and policies for officers who cease active service; officers who die or retire while on active duty; officers who transfer to become professional military personnel or defense civil servants.

DECREE

AMENDING AND SUPPLEMENTING CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE DECREE NO. 21/2009/NĐ-CP OF FEBRUARY 23, 2009 OF THE GOVERNMENT GUIDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE LAW ON MILITARY OFFICERS OF THE PEOPLE'S ARMED FORCES OF VIETNAM REGARDING REGIME AND POLICY TOWARDS RETIRED OFFICERS; DECEASED OFFICERS; OFFICERS TRANSFERRING TO PROFESSIONAL SOLDIERS OR NATIONAL DEFENSE CIVIL SERVANTS

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Pursuant to the Government Organization Law on February 18, 2025;

Pursuant to the Law on Military Officers of the People's Armed Forces of Vietnam dated December 21, 1999; the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Military Officers of the People's Armed Forces of Vietnam dated June 2, 2008; the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Military Officers of the People's Armed Forces of Vietnam dated November 27, 2014; the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Military Officers of the People's Armed Forces of Vietnam dated December 28, 2024;

On the basis of the Social Insurance Law dated November 20, 2014; the Social Insurance Law dated June 29, 2024;

"Based on the proposal of the Minister of National Defense;"

The Government promulgates this Decree amending and supplementing certain provisions of the Decree No. 21/2009/NĐ-CP of February 23, 2009 of the Government guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Military Officers of the People's Armed Forces of Vietnam regarding regime and policy towards retired officers; deceased officers; officers transferring to professional soldiers or national defense civil servants.

Article 1. Amending and supplementing certain provisions of the Decree No. 21/2009/NĐ-CP of February 23, 2009 of the Government guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Military Officers of the People's Armed Forces of Vietnam regarding regime and policy towards retired officers; deceased officers; officers transferring to professional soldiers or national defense civil servants.

1. Amending and supplementing certain points and clauses of Article 2 as follows:

a) Amending and supplementing the first bullet point under point a clause 2 as follows:

"- Officers who are surplus due to changes in organization or organizational structure, establishment according to the decision of the competent authority;"

b) Add Clause 3 after Clause 2 as follows:

"3. When an officer has a retirement decision, if they have been promoted to a higher rank and received an increase in salary for two-thirds of the term or more, and have been evaluated as having fulfilled their tasks or better, then they will be promoted to a higher rank and receive an increase in salary (except in cases of promotion to general rank)."

2. Amending and supplementing certain points and clauses of Article 3 as follows:

a) Amending point c clause 1 as follows:

"c) Being given priority to add points to the examination results for civil servant recruitment according to the laws on cadres, civil servants, and public officials at the time of recruitment;"

b) Amend and supplement Point d of Clause 1 as follows:

"d) Officers shall be classified and paid salaries according to new job positions, new work, and new positions from the date the transfer decision becomes effective. In cases where the salary according to the group, grade, or level assigned is lower than the salary according to the military rank held at the time of transfer, the salary, seniority allowance, and social insurance contributions and benefits at the time of transfer shall be retained for 18 months from the date the transfer decision becomes effective and shall be paid by the new agency or unit. The continuation of retaining the salary beyond the 18-month period shall be decided by the head of the agency or unit with management authority over cadres, civil servants, and public officials, in accordance with internal salary relationships. During the retention period, the difference in retained salary decreases correspondingly when the cadre, civil servant, or public official receives a salary increase or an additional seniority allowance within the grade or receives a grade promotion; if the new salary is higher than the salary at the time of transfer, the new salary shall be applied. After the retention period, the seniority allowance at the time of transfer shall continue to be applied or added to calculate the seniority allowance in subsequent sectors that provide seniority allowances;"

c) Amending and supplementing point đ clause 1 as follows:

"đ) For officers who have transferred to another sector and meet the conditions for receiving a pension, if the average monthly salary used as the basis for calculating the pension according to the social insurance law at the time of retirement is lower than the average monthly salary at the time of transfer, the average monthly salary at the time of transfer shall be used as the basis for calculating the pension, converted according to the salary system applicable at the time of retirement;"

d) Adding point e and point g after point đ clause 1 as follows:

"e) For officers who have transferred to another sector and do not meet the conditions for receiving a pension but have stopped working, in addition to receiving social insurance benefits according to regulations, they shall also receive severance pay from the agency or unit managing and using cadres, civil servants, and public officials from the state budget at the time of stopping work; specifically, for each year of service in the military, they shall receive a severance payment equivalent to one month's salary of the last month before transferring, converted according to the salary system applicable at the time of stopping work to calculate the severance pay; the period of service in agencies or units funded by the state budget and the severance pay shall be implemented according to labor laws and laws on cadres, civil servants, and public officials at the time of stopping work;

g) For cases where officers transfer to work in agencies or units funded by the state budget, with a period of service in the military recognized as a lieutenant by the competent authority, when retiring, the salary coefficient serving as the basis for calculating the average salary for pension calculation for the period as a lieutenant shall be converted to 3.90."

đ) Amending and supplementing clause 2 as follows:

"2. For officers who transfer to work in agencies or units funded by the state budget and then transfer to agencies or units not funded by the state budget, when retiring, they shall be entitled to an additional seniority allowance according to the time of service in the military and the military rank at the time immediately before the officer's transfer, converted according to the salary system applicable at the time of retirement when calculating the average monthly salary for social insurance contributions for the period of service under the state-regulated salary system to serve as the basis for calculating the pension for the officer."

e) Amending and supplementing clause 3 as follows:

"3. An officer who has transferred to another field but due to mission requirements, is decided by the competent authority to return to serve in the Military, shall be assigned new work suitable to the needs and capabilities of the officer; the time spent working in other fields at agencies and units receiving state budget salary shall be counted towards continuous service time for salary increase, rank promotion, and seniority calculation."

3. Amend and supplement Article 4 as follows:

"Article 4. Treatment and policies for officers transferring to work at agencies, units, enterprises not funded from the state budget
1. The time already contributed to social insurance shall be preserved in accordance with current laws on social insurance.
2. Shall be entitled to a one-time allowance, equivalent to one month's salary of the last month before transferring to another field, for each year of service, paid by the agency, unit, or enterprise under the Ministry of National Defense managing the officer prior to the transfer.
3. An officer who has transferred to another field and meets the conditions for retirement pay shall implement social insurance benefits according to current laws on social insurance, but shall not apply the average monthly salary basis for calculating retirement pay as stipulated in point d, Clause 1, Article 3 of Decree No. 21/2009/NĐ-CP, amended and supplemented in point c, Clause 2, Article 1 of this Decree.

4. Amend and supplement some points and clauses in Article 5 as follows:

a) Amend point a, Clause 1 as follows:

"a) Entitled to job creation allowance equal to six months' basic salary as prescribed by the Government; given priority in vocational training or job introduction by organizations providing job introduction services of ministries, sectors, mass organizations, localities, and other socio-economic organizations;"

b) Amend Clause 2, Clause 3 as follows:

"2. An officer who has been demobilized and returned to the locality within a period not exceeding one year from the effective date of the demobilization decision, if recruited to work at agencies and units receiving state budget salary, shall implement the transfer to another field regime as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 3 of Decree No. 21/2009/NĐ-CP, amended and supplemented some clauses in Clause 2, Article 1 of this Decree, while having to repay the one-time demobilization allowance prescribed in point b, Clause 1, Article 5 of Decree No. 21/2009/NĐ-CP and the one-time social insurance allowance received according to the provisions of the law on social insurance. The head of the agency, unit, or enterprise where the officer worked before demobilization shall direct the recovery of the demobilization decision and the aforementioned allowances; issue a decision or report to the competent authority to issue a transfer to another field decision; remit the recovered allowances into the state budget and the special account of the Social Insurance Fund of the Ministry of National Defense; complete the application for confirmation and retention of the previous social insurance contribution period according to regulations by the Social Insurance Fund of the Ministry of National Defense.

3. An officer who has been demobilized and returned to the locality within a period not exceeding one year from the effective date of the demobilization decision, if recruited to work at agencies, units, or enterprises not receiving state budget salary but wishes to retain the previous social insurance contribution period, must repay the one-time social insurance allowance received according to the provisions of the law on social insurance. The head of the agency, unit, or enterprise where the officer worked before demobilization shall direct the recovery of the one-time social insurance allowance and deposit it into the special account of the Social Insurance Fund of the Ministry of National Defense; complete the application for confirmation and retention of the previous social insurance contribution period according to regulations. When meeting the conditions for retirement pay, the average monthly salary basis for calculating retirement pay as stipulated in point d, Clause 1, Article 3 of Decree No. 21/2009/NĐ-CP, amended and supplemented in point c, Clause 2, Article 1 of this Decree, shall not be applied.

c) Add Clause 4 following Clause 3 as follows:

"4. In cases where the agency, unit, or enterprise where the officer worked before demobilization has merged or dissolved, the matter shall be resolved by the agency, unit, or enterprise after the merger or the superior agency directly managing the dissolved agency, unit, or enterprise. The time the officer spent demobilized and returned to the locality shall not be counted as the service period for social insurance participation."

5. Amend and supplement Clause 2 of Article 8 as follows:

"2. An officer on active duty who has served in combat, support combat, or in difficult areas or special professions shall, upon transferring to become a defense civil servant, be entitled to the one-time allowance regime prescribed in Article 9 of Decree No. 21/2009/NĐ-CP, amended in Clause 6 of Article 1 of this Decree. If, due to military requirements, a defense civil servant transfers back to become an officer, the additional time counted for the one-time allowance as mentioned above shall not be counted again when leaving active duty. An officer on active duty who transfers to become a defense civil servant and meets the conditions for retirement pay, if the average monthly salary basis for calculating retirement pay according to the law on social insurance at the time of retirement is lower than that at the time of transferring to become a defense civil servant, shall be calculated according to the retirement pay regime for officers transferring to work at agencies and units receiving state budget salary as prescribed in point d, Clause 1, Article 3 of Decree No. 21/2009/NĐ-CP, amended and supplemented in point c, Clause 2, Article 1 of this Decree."

6. Amend and supplement the title and the opening paragraph of Clause 1 and some points of Clause 1 of Article 9 as follows:

a) Amend the title and the opening paragraph of Clause 1 as follows:

"Article 9. One-time allowance regime for officers who have served directly in combat, combat service, or worked in difficult areas or special professions when they leave active service or pass away.
1. Officers who have served directly in combat, combat service, or worked in areas or professions with special characteristics shall be eligible to convert their service time to calculate the one-time allowance regime when they leave active service or pass away. Specifically as follows:"

b) Amend Point b and Point c of Clause 1 as follows:

"b) Officers who have served in areas with a special allowance at 100% or in professions with special characteristics classified as particularly arduous, hazardous, or dangerous work shall have that time converted at a rate of one year equal to one year and four months;"

c) Officers who have served in areas with a regional allowance of 0.7 or higher or in professions with special characteristics classified as arduous, hazardous, or dangerous work shall have that time converted at a rate of one year equal to one year and two months."

7. Amend and supplement Article 14 as follows:

"1. The Minister, Heads of Ministries equivalent to ministries, Heads of government agencies, Chairmen of provincial People's Committees under the central government, and related agencies, units, and individuals are responsible for implementing this Circular.

1. The Minister of National Defense shall be responsible for guiding the implementation of Decree No. 21/2009/NĐ-CP and this Decree; regularly reviewing, amending, and supplementing related normative legal documents within their authority or proposing competent authorities to amend and supplement such documents to ensure that the regime and policies for officers are implemented uniformly and synchronously.

2. The Ministry of Home Affairs shall coordinate with the Ministry of National Defense in directing, inspecting, and resolving issues arising during the organization and implementation of the regime and policies on salary conversion, exemption from examination, examination for civil servants and public officials, and other policies for officers as stipulated in Decree No. 21/2009/NĐ-CP and this Decree.

3. Based on the proposal of the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Finance shall take the lead in compiling and submitting to competent authorities for approval the budgetary funds required to implement the regimes prescribed in Decree No. 21/2009/NĐ-CP and this Decree in accordance with the State budget law; coordinating to resolve any issues arising.
4. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-affiliated agencies, Chairpersons of provincial and centrally-administered city People's Committees, and relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals shall be responsible for implementing Decree No. 21/2009/NĐ-CP and this Decree."

Article 2. Effective Date

1. This Decree shall take effect from March 1, 2025.

2. The regimes and policies prescribed in this Decree shall be implemented from December 1, 2024.

3. The seniority allowance regime for officers transferring to work in agencies and organizations funded by the state budget after the salary retention period (18 months) as stipulated in Point b, Clause 2, Article 1 of this Decree shall be implemented until the Government promulgates detailed regulations and guidance on the new salary system pursuant to Resolution No. 27-NQ/TW dated May 21, 2018 of the Seventh Plenary Session of the Central Committee (Term XII) on salary reform for cadres, civil servants, public officials, military personnel, and workers in enterprises.

4. When the referenced documents in this Decree are amended, supplemented, or replaced, the references in this Decree shall also be adjusted and implemented according to the amended, supplemented, or replaced normative legal documents.

5. Circular Joint No. 36/2009/TTLT-BQP-BNV-BLDTBXH-BTC dated July 21, 2009 of the Joint Ministries of National Defense, Home Affairs, Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, and Finance guiding the implementation of certain provisions of Decree No. 21/2009/NĐ-CP dated February 23, 2009 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Officers of the Vietnam People's Army regarding the regime and policies for officers leaving active service; officers in active service who die or pass away; officers in active service transferring to professional soldiers or defense civil servants shall cease to be effective from December 1, 2024./.