JOINT CIRCULAR No. 99/1998/TTLT/TCCP-BTC-BLDTB&XH GUIDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF GOVERNMENT DECREE No. 09/1998/ND-CP AMENDING AND COMPLEMENTING GOVERNMENT DECREE No. 50/CP dated July 26, 1995 ON THE LIVING ALLOWANCE REGIME FOR RURAL, URBAN WARD, AND MARKET TOWN STAFF

JOINT ISSUING AUTHORITY: MINISTRY OF LABOR, INVALIDS AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS - MINISTRY OF FINANCE - CIVIL SERVICE ORGANIZATION BOARD OF THE GOVERNMENT ********	SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM Independence - Freedom - Happiness ********
NUMBER: 99/1998/TTLT-TCCP-BTC-BLDTBXH	HA NOI, MAY 19, 1998

CIRCULAR JOINT CIRCULAR

JOINT CIRCULAR NO. 99/1998/TTLT-TCCP-BTC-BLDTBXH OF THE GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION AND CIVIL SERVICE AGENCY - MINISTRY OF FINANCE - MINISTRY OF LABOR, INVALIDS AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS ON MAY 19, 1998 GUIDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF GOVERNMENT DECREE NO. 09/1998/NĐ-CP AMENDING AND COMPLEMENTING GOVERNMENT DECREE NO. 50/CP OF JULY 26, 1995 ON THE SUBSIDY REGIME FOR RURAL, WARD, AND TOWN CIVIL SERVANTS

Pursuant to Government Decree No. 09/1998/NĐ-CP dated January 23, 1998 amending and supplementing Government Decree No. 50/CP dated July 26, 1995 on the regime for rural, ward, and town civil servants; after exchanging and reaching consensus with the Central Organization Committee, the Joint Circular of the Government Civil Service and Organization Agency, Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs guides the implementation as follows:

I. APPLICABLE OBJECTS:

The village-level civil servants specified in Government Decree No. 09/1998/NĐ-CP include those working in Party affairs, administrative work, and heads of mass organizations: Chairman of the People's Council, President of the Women's Union, President of the Farmers' Association, President of the Veterans' Association, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, and civil servants holding four specialized positions at administrative units: village, ward, and town (collectively referred to as village-level civil servants).

1. The number of village-level civil servants arranged according to Article 1 of Government Decree No. 09/1998/NĐ-CP:

Village-level civil servant positions are arranged as follows:

1.1. Number of Party, administrative, and mass organization civil servants:

- Village Party Committee: 2 civil servants.

- Village People's Council: 2 civil servants.

- Village People's Administrative Committee: from 5 to 7 civil servants (according to Government Decree No. 174/CP).

- Five mass organization civil servants: Chairman of the Fatherland Front, President of the Women's Union, Chairman of the Farmers' Association, Chairman of the Veterans' Association, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union.

1.2. Four specialized positions under the Village People's Administrative Committee: Judicial - Civil Registration; Land Administration; Financial Accounting; People's Committee Office - Statistics.

- Provincial People's Committees and municipal people's committees directly under the central government shall arrange civil servants based on population, area, workload, difficult terrain, political-economic situation, ethnic-religious characteristics, and social security conditions to suit each type of village, ward, and town. However, they must not exceed the prescribed number (including civil servants in state personnel who are temporarily assigned to villages, wards, and towns).

Villages with a prescribed number of 17 to 19 civil servants need to arrange civil servants to concurrently hold positions to ensure that all aspects of village work have someone responsible.

For villages with a prescribed number of 21 to 25 civil servants, which is the maximum level according to Government Decree No. 09/1998/NĐ-CP, the provincial and district people's committees should guide the reinforcement of personnel in areas with large and complex workloads such as labor, veterans, social affairs, national defense, and public security.

2. Selection criteria and management of the four specialized positions at the village level:

2.1. Selection criteria for civil servants holding specialized positions under the Village People's Administrative Committee:

The selection of civil servants for each position must be based on the professional standards set by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Justice, the General Department of Land Administration, the Government Civil Service and Organization Agency, and the General Statistics Office.

Those meeting the following criteria may be selected to work in specialized positions at the village, ward, and town levels:

- Clear background, good morals;

- Hold a State-issued diploma or higher degree in land administration (for land administration staff), financial accounting (for financial accounting staff), legal studies (for judicial-civil registration staff), clerical record-keeping, administrative work, statistics, and other relevant fields requiring professional training (for office staff-statistics);

- Be in good health, with age not exceeding 35 for women and 40 for men.

2.2. Selection process:

Based on the above criteria, the Village People's Administrative Committee proposes that the District Organization and Administration Office coordinate with relevant departments to evaluate the quality of each specialized civil servant in each village, ward, and town, and submit the evaluation to the District People's Administrative Committee Chairperson for decision, who then signs a long-term labor contract with each civil servant according to their specialized position, after obtaining the opinion of the relevant department.

Replacement of civil servants in the four specialized positions can only be carried out in the following cases:

- The civil servant is reassigned to another duty.

- They do not meet the criteria to perform the specialized work.

- They violate the contract and are required to terminate employment.

The replacement of specialized civil servants requested by the Village People's Administrative Committee is decided by the District People's Administrative Committee. The Village People's Administrative Committee Chairperson bases the decision to terminate the contract and sign a new contract with the newly appointed civil servant.

Before transferring to another job or terminating employment, specialized civil servants must hand over all files, documents, specialized work, money, and assets entrusted to them to the Village People's Administrative Committee.

2.3. Duties and benefits of civil servants in specialized positions:

The four specialized positions: Judicial-Civil Registration, Land Administration, Financial Accounting, and People's Committee Office-Statistics are tasked with assisting the Village People's Administrative Committee in managing their respective fields under the guidance of the district-level professional agencies, working according to the plan of the Village People's Administrative Committee and the industry management. During the course of work, they must comply with the provisions of the contract and have their living allowance increased according to their rank.

The review and promotion of ranks are proposed by the Village People's Administrative Committee Chairperson, coordinated by the District Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs Office with relevant district-level professional agencies, and submitted to the Provincial or Municipal People's Committee Chairperson for decision. The promotion coefficient for civil servants in the four specialized positions is based on Government Decree No. 25/CP dated May 23, 1993, for application.

II. MONTHLY SUBSIDY LEVELS FOR CURRENTLY WORKING VILLAGE CIVIL SERVANTS AND ALLOWANCES FOR VILLAGE CIVIL SERVANTS WHEN ON LEAVE

1. Subsidy Levels:

1.1. For elected positions with term limits and other positions under the Village People's Administrative Committee:

- Secretary of the Village Party Committee (or Secretary of the Branch Party Committee where there is no Village Party Committee): 270,000 VND/month.

- Deputy Secretary of the Village Party Committee, Chairman of the Village People's Council, Chairman of the Village People's Administrative Committee: 260,000 VND/month.

- Deputy Chairpersons of the People's Council of the commune, Deputy Chairpersons of the People's Committee of the commune, Standing Committee of the Commune Party Committee (where the Secretary or Deputy Secretary concurrently holds the position of Chairman or Deputy Chairman of the People's Council and People's Committee), Chairman of the People's Front, Heads of mass organizations of the commune (Women's Union, Farmers' Association, Veterans' Association, Communist Youth Union), Chief of the Military Command Post of the commune, Head of the commune police level: 240,000 VND/month.

- Members of the People's Committee of the commune level: 230,000 VND/month.

- Other positions under the People's Committee level: 210,000 VND/month.

Positions elected and other positions (as stipulated in the total number of commune-level cadres from 17 to 25 people) after five consecutive years of work, if re-elected or continue working, shall enjoy a subsistence allowance supplement of 5% of the current subsistence allowance level (starting from the sixth year onwards). Professional cadres shall not be entitled to the 5% re-election allowance supplement.

1.2. For professional cadres:

+ Cadres belonging to four specialized positions at the commune level who are not civil servants but to encourage those cadres with specialized qualifications certified by the state to work stably for a long time at the commune level, their subsistence allowances shall be classified according to the scale specified in Decree No. 25/CP dated May 23, 1993 of the Government. The process of classification must be based on the job positions assigned according to Decree No. 09/1998/NĐ-CP dated January 23, 1998, and the guidance of the Government's Organization and Cadre Department to classify into appropriate ranks and scales.

After five years of work, they must be evaluated; if they meet both criteria below throughout the period of enjoying the old subsistence allowance level, they will be promoted to a higher subsistence allowance level corresponding to the next rank and scale in the grade:

- Completing the required quantity of work as stipulated in the contract and meeting the quality and time requirements.

- Not violating labor discipline, internal regulations, or related state laws concerning their work and moral conduct, not receiving disciplinary actions of warning or higher.

Example: A commune land administration cadre with secondary education, having worked at the commune level for 12 years, based on the professional standards of the civil servant grade, meets the criteria to be classified into the assistant cadre grade and enjoys a subsistence allowance equivalent to rank 2, scale factor 1.58 of grade 01004.

After five years of work, if they meet the criteria, their subsistence allowance will be raised to correspond to rank 3, scale factor 1.70.

+ Professional cadres without a specialized qualification certificate issued by the state shall enjoy a level of 154,000 VND/month; those currently enjoying a subsistence allowance higher than 154,000 VND/month shall retain their current level.

- Commune cadres assigned to兼任多个职务的干部将享受其中较高职务的生活补贴；不再兼任时，享受其担任职务的生活补贴。

- 村级干部按照国务院令第09号文的规定享受生活补贴，不得再享受国发〔1997〕6号文规定的20%附加补贴。

2. 对村级干部的待遇：

- 村级干部被选派参加理论和业务培训，享受国家规定的各项权利。

- 村级干部被指派执行公务，享受财政部规定的差旅费制度。

- 村级干部在工作中有突出成绩，按国家规定予以奖励。

3. 村级干部退休后继续享受每月补贴的规定如下：

根据政府决定130/CP号文于1975年6月30日和111/HĐBT号文于1981年10月13日的规定，退休的原书记、主任每月享受135,000 VND的补贴；原副书记、副主任、乡队队长、乡警察队长每月享受130,000 VND的补贴；其他职务每月享受120,000 VND的补贴。

上述人员在合法迁移到新居住地时，从一个乡到另一个同县的乡由乡出具转移补助证明；从一个县到另一个同省的县由县劳动和社会事务办公室出具转移补助证明；从一个省到另一个省由省人民政府组织部门出具转移补助证明。迁入地各级继续支付给迁移来的干部补助金，费用计入乡级财政预算。对于在国务院令第09号文生效前已经合法迁居的干部，各级继续支付补助金。

4. 活动经费：

副人民团体主席、副各团体（妇女联合会、农民协会、退伍军人协会、共青团）享受活动经费，来源于乡财政经常性支出分配给每个团体的资金。根据财政能力，省长向省人民代表大会提出建议并决定。

第三部分 社会保险补贴对村级干部退休的规定：

1. 享受每月补贴的对象：

- 正在工作并按照国务院令第09号文第三条第一款、第二款、第三款、第四款、第五款规定领取生活补贴的村级干部。

2. 享受每月补贴的条件：

村级干部享受每月补贴需满足以下条件：

- 工作年限及缴纳社会保险年限满15年（180个月）以上。

- 男性退休年龄满55岁，女性退休年龄满50岁。

3. 每月社会保险缴费比例为生活补贴的15%，其中村级干部个人缴纳5%，国家财政承担10%的社会保险基金。乡长负责编制村级干部社会保险缴费名单，经县级劳动和社会事务办公室审核，由省人民政府组织部门批准。乡长每月负责将款项存入社会保险基金。

4. 计算每月补贴金额的方法：

+ 缴纳社会保险满15年的人员，每月可享受相当于平均生活补贴的45%（包括5%的复职补贴，如有）。此后每增加一年社会保险缴费，补贴增加2%，但每月最高补贴不超过退休前五年平均生活补贴的75%，计算方法如下：

总计作为社会保险缴费基数的生活补贴金额

The average living allowance of 60 months (the last 5 years before retirement)

living allowance for the last 5 years =

60 months

Example: Mr. A retired at age 55 with 20 years of social insurance contributions. His living allowance for the last 5 years was: 2 years as Deputy Chairman of the People's Committee of a commune with a monthly living allowance of 240,000 VND, and 3 years as Chairman of the People's Committee of a commune with a monthly living allowance of 260,000 VND.

+ The average living allowance for the last 5 years of Mr. A will be:

{(240,000 VND x 24 months) + (260,000 VND x 36 months)}: 60 months = 252,000 VND/month.

+ The monthly subsidy rate of Mr. A is:

- The first 15 years are calculated at 45%

- From year 16 to year 20 (5 years), an additional 5 x 2% = 10%

Total: 45% + 10% = 55%.

+ The monthly subsidy amount of Mr. A is:

252,000 VND/month x 55% = 138,600 VND/month.

5. Village cadres who have worked continuously for 15 years or more without social insurance contributions, or those who started contributing to social insurance from January 1, 1998 onwards, upon retirement at age 55 for men and 50 for women shall receive monthly subsidies as stipulated above. Village cadres who have already received a one-time allowance under Decree No. 50/CP shall not be eligible for benefits under Decree No.

09/1998/NĐ-CP.

+ Specifically, state civil servants, military personnel, and public security officers who have retired and are still receiving pension or monthly disability allowances, if they continue working in villages, shall receive living allowances according to Decree No. 09/1998/NĐ-CP dated January 23, 1998, without having to contribute to social insurance. Therefore, when retiring, they will not be entitled to monthly allowances or one-time allowances.

6. Recipients of one-time allowances:

Village cadres who do not meet the conditions for monthly allowances as stipulated in Clause 2, Part III of this Circular shall receive one-time allowances. For each year of social insurance contribution, they will receive one month of living allowance calculated based on the average living allowance of the last five years before retirement, including any re-election allowances of 5% (if applicable). Village cadres currently working but who had not been required to contribute to social insurance prior to January 1, 1998, shall also be eligible for one-time allowances upon retirement.

The calculation of the average living allowance for the last five years before retirement shall follow the guidelines set out in Clause 4, Part III of this Circular.

In cases where the last five years only involve one level of living allowance, the calculation for one-time allowances is as follows:

Example: Mr. B has contributed to social insurance for 5 years and receives a living allowance of 270,000 VND/month. The one-time allowance is:

5 months x 270,000 VND = 1,350,000 VND

- In cases where village cadres retire after 15 continuous years of social insurance contributions but do not meet the age requirement for monthly allowances and do not receive one-time allowances, they must submit a voluntary application to wait for the monthly allowance benefits, confirmed by the Chairman of the People's Committee of the commune, ward, or town. Subsequently, the People's Committee of the commune, ward, or town must prepare and submit the cadre's application file to the local Social Insurance Office for management, monitoring, and processing of monthly allowances when the age requirement is met. During the waiting period, if they continue working, their previous work period will be combined with subsequent work periods for social insurance purposes. If they die during the waiting period, their funeral expenses will be covered by the Social Insurance Office according to Article 5 of Decree No. 09/1998/NĐ-CP and Clause 7, Part III of this Circular.

7. Funeral Allowance:

Village cadres currently working and those who have retired and are receiving monthly allowances since January 1, 1998, upon death, the person handling the funeral will receive a funeral allowance equivalent to eight months of the minimum wage.

8. Implementation:

8.1. Responsibilities of the People's Committee of the Commune:

+ Prepare files to process social insurance benefits for village cadres, including two copies of the decision for village cadres to retire and receive monthly allowances or one-time allowances, and two copies of the declaration of work history and social insurance contributions to send to the People's Committee of the district.

If a village cadre dies, a death certificate or a certificate of death must be prepared, along with a letter from the People's Committee of the district requesting processing.

8.2. Responsibilities of the Vietnam Social Insurance Authority:

- Implement social insurance collection, manage the social insurance fund, and pay allowances to village cadres.

- Process and issue social insurance books for village cadres participating in social insurance and those eligible for monthly allowances or one-time allowances.

- In cases where village cadres receiving regular allowances move to a new place of residence legally, the Vietnam Social Insurance Authority will process the transfer of monthly allowances to the new location so that the local social insurance office can continue to pay monthly allowances to the village cadres.

9. Forms and issuance of decisions on living allowances and accompanying benefits for village cadres.

The Chairman of the People's Committee of the province or centrally-administered city decides on the living allowances for village cadres, the allowances according to rank and grade for four specialized positions, and the accompanying benefits for village cadres as stipulated in this Decree and Circular. The Organizational Department of the provincial or centrally-administered city government is responsible for compiling lists, monitoring the quantity and quality of village cadres, and reporting to the Government's Organizational-Cadre Department to develop annual plans.

IV. SOURCES OF FUNDS AND MANAGEMENT OF BENEFITS FOR VILLAGE CADRES

1. Sources of funds for living allowances and accompanying benefits

The sources of funds for living allowances, subsidies, and funeral expenses (for elderly village cadres retiring under Decision No. 130/CP and Decision No. 111/HĐBT of the Government) and other allowances and activity fees for village cadres shall be balanced into the commune budget from the state budget to ensure timely payment to village cadres.

Living allowances and other allowances for village cadres mentioned above shall be disbursed through the State Treasury. Each month, the Chairman of the commune must prepare a list of living allowances and a list of other allowances according to the prescribed format of the Ministry of Finance and report to the State Treasury along with the payment order for the commune finance board to directly settle payments to each cadre. Monthly, quarterly, and annually, the People's Committee of the commune must prepare final reports to the financial authorities and higher levels.

2. Regarding financial resources for implementing social insurance contributions:

For civil servants working at the commune level who had not joined the social insurance scheme before January 1, 1998, the state budget shall transfer a portion of the required funding (15% of the living allowance according to the time and number of civil servants present as of December 31, 1997) into the social insurance fund to implement monthly allowances and lump-sum payments when civil servants retire. The Vietnam Social Security will work with the Ministry of Finance to determine the specific amount to be transferred.

In 1998, localities must prepare the budget for the increased difference arising from the implementation of Decree No. 09/1998/NĐ-CP dated January 1, 1998, and submit it to the Ministry of Finance for consideration to supplement the funding (Annex Tables 1, 2, and 3 attached).

Localities must urgently prepare complete files to calculate the additional payment levels for each category. After receiving the supplementary funding, they must allocate and notify each commune to pay the civil servants according to the regulations and on time.

V. IMPLEMENTATION:

This Circular takes effect from January 1, 1998. All provisions in Circular No. 97 TTLB/TCCBCP-TC dated August 16, 1995, issued jointly by the Government Organizational and Cadre Affairs Commission and the Ministry of Finance that conflict with this Circular are hereby abolished.

Provincial People's Committees and municipal people's committees directly under the central government shall base their guidance on implementing Decree No. 09/1998/NĐ-CP dated January 23, 1998, issued by the Government, and the guiding circular, taking into account the actual situation of their locality.

During the implementation process, provinces and municipalities directly under the central government need to conduct interim reviews, observations, and evaluations of the results achieved, and report back to the Government Organizational and Cadre Affairs Commission. If there are difficulties encountered or any necessary supplements during the implementation, localities should reflect these issues to the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs, and the Government Organizational and Cadre Affairs Commission for further guidance.

Do Quang Trung (Signed)

Nguyen Sinh Hung (Signed)

Nguyen Thi Hang (Signed)