Conditions for Female Workers Born in 1971 to Retire Early

A female worker (born on December 10, 1971) has contributed to social insurance for 23 years and 4 months. Currently, she is asking relevant authorities about the conditions, benefits, and procedures to retire early.

Responding to the reader’s inquiry, the Hanoi Social Insurance Department stated that the Labor Code of 2019 and Government Decree No. 135/2020/ND-CP regulate retirement age. Starting from January 1, 2021, the retirement age for female workers under normal working conditions will increase by 4 months each year until reaching 60 years of age.

Therefore, if a female worker under normal working conditions retires in 2025, she must be at least 56 years and 8 months old.

Currently, the worker is not yet 56 years old. Additionally, while the reader provided the total duration of her social insurance contributions, it is unclear whether this includes voluntary social insurance contributions. As such, the Social Insurance Agency does not have sufficient grounds to calculate specific pension benefits.

However, current regulations regarding the conditions and lower pension benefits for female workers as outlined in the 2014 Social Insurance Law are as follows:

Vietnamese citizens participating in mandatory social insurance who leave their jobs after contributing for at least 20 years are eligible for a reduced pension if they are up to 5 years younger than the retirement age specified in Clause 2, Article 169 of the 2019 Labor Code, provided they suffer from a reduced work capacity ranging from 61% to less than 81%.

For female workers, the pension is calculated as 45% of the average monthly salary corresponding to 15 years of social insurance contributions, with an additional 2% for each subsequent year of contributions. The maximum pension is 75% of the average monthly salary. If retiring early, the pension is reduced by 2% for each year below the standard retirement age.

The required documents for retirement pension eligibility include: A decision from the employer granting retirement or a request form (Form 14-HSB); Social insurance book; and Medical assessment report (if applicable).

Illustration of retirement planning