The Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) has acknowledged the need to adjust the retirement age of Vietnamese women for the sake of gender equality
Addressing a seminar on women’s retirement age on April 3, MoLISA Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Hoa said policy makers have put the issue on table for several times but have not reached an unanimity to solve it.
“Besides support for raising women’s retirement age to 60 from the current 55, some opinions raise concerns about the working capacity of female labourers after 55, as well as impacts by the higher retirement age on the annual employment of young people who enter the working age,” Hoa said.
A survey conducted by the Centre for Research of Female Labour and Gender of the Institute of Labour Sciences with support from the World Bank showed that in Asia, only Vietnam, China and Taiwan set different retirement ages for men and women.
Also according to the survey, supporters of raising women’s retirement age claimed that the early retirement limits women’s job and promotion opportunities. Their monthly pensions as a result are also lower compared to men.
In addition, the difference also caused inequality in social insurance because while women pay insurance fees for a shorter time, they receive pensions for a longer time than men do as they usually live longer than men.
Meanwhile, those who are against the equal retirement age for men and women held that retired women in urban areas have good living conditions as their earnings do not drop remarkably while they are able to spend more time for the family.
The survey also revealed that most labour users are not in favour of a higher retirement age for women, citing possible lower productivity as the reason, although they appreciate elderly workers’ experiences. They want to use the abundant source of young labour.
Taking all this into account, the survey suggested allowing female labourers to decide by themselves to retire at either 55 or 60.
WB Representative to Vietnam Martin Rama at the seminar said it is necessary to reform policies on retirement age in order to ensure gender equality and balance for social insurance fund but it is not something that can be done overnight.
He expressed his hope that suggestions at the seminar would be useful for the consideration and revision of laws related to retirement ages in
A similar seminar will be co-held by the MoLISA and WB in
