Circular No. 88/TBXH guiding the implementation of Decree No. 189 dated November 29, 1982 of the Council of Ministers

CIRCULAR

OF THE MINISTRY OF VETERANS AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS NUMBER 88/TBXH DATED DECEMBER 29, 1982

GUIDELINES FOR IMPLEMENTING DECREE NO. 189/HĐBT DATED NOVEMBER 29, 1982 OF THE STATE COUNCIL

THE MINISTER

Pursuant to Article 4 of Decree No. 189/HĐBT dated November 29, 1982 of the Council of Ministers, after reaching consensus with the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Veterans and Social Affairs provides guidelines for implementing Articles 2 and 3 of Decree No. 189/HĐBT regarding officers of the Vietnam People's Army who have reached their service age limit and are entitled to retirement benefits as follows:

1. Conditions for Entitlement to Retirement Benefits:

Decree No. 189/HĐBT stipulates that officers who have reached their service age limit according to Article 32 of the Law on Officers of the Vietnam People's Army and are not assigned work at state agencies or enterprises, or enrolled in schools, if they have continuously worked for 20 years, including one of the following conditions, shall be entitled to retirement benefits:

1. Having served 10 years in military service.

2. Having served 5 years in military service or more and having participated in combat or direct service, or having worked for 3 years in difficult and harsh areas within 5 years of military service.

3. Having served 5 years in military service and worked for 10 years or more under heavy and hazardous working conditions.

Below are two points clarified:

- Continuous 20 years of work includes time spent working at state agencies or enterprises, or time spent working in communes (as defined as continuous work time) before enlistment, combined with military service time. The military service time mentioned in one of the five conditions above also counts towards the 20 years of continuous work.

- Difficult and harsh areas include border regions (as specified in Circular No. 60/TT-LB dated January 4, 1980 of the Joint Board of the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Veterans and Social Affairs), islands except for 15 islands mentioned in Circular No. 16/TBXH dated May 14, 1981 of the Ministry of Veterans and Social Affairs guiding the implementation of Decision No. 301/CP dated September 20, 1980 of the Council of Ministers, and mountainous regions with regional allowances of 25% or higher, areas classified as K and C.

Working under heavy and hazardous conditions refers to occupations classified as types III, IV, and V in the "Classification Table of Labor by Occupation of the Ministry of Labor."

- Decree No. 189/HĐBT applies only to officers who have reached their service age limit and are not assigned work or enrolled in schools (i.e., those who have left active duty) and does not apply to officers who have transferred to civilian jobs and then retired.

2. Procedures for Converting Disability Allowance or Discharge Benefits to Retirement Benefits.

Officers who have stopped working from January 1, 1982 (after the promulgation of the Officer Law) and are currently receiving disability allowance or discharge benefits, if they meet the continuous work period conditions set forth in Article 2 of the retirement decree from the date of its issuance (i.e., they are entitled to retirement benefits from January 1, 1982).

The Department of Veterans and Social Affairs will coordinate with the Provincial Military Command where the officer resides, based on the disability records or discharge records managed by the Department of Veterans and Social Affairs or the Provincial Military Command, to issue a Decision converting to retirement benefits, and collect the disability allowance book along with the retirement decision sent back to the Ministry for archiving the officer's file.