The debate over Vietnam’s elderly workers has returned to the fore as legislators consider a new proposal to increase the country’s official retirement age.
For the third time in as many years, Vietnamese officials are considering a proposal to raise the retirement age in order to mitigate the effects of its rapidly aging population, reports VnExpress.
Vietnam’s retirement age is currently 60 for men and 55 for women. In 2013, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs unsuccessfully attempted to increase the retirement age by five years. The same proposal was submitted to the National Assembly the following year, this time with an aim to increase the country’s retirement age to 62 for men and 60 for women. Again, the proposal was shot down.
Moving forward, however, experts predict Vietnam will risk instability if the country fails to increase its mandatory retirement age, in addition to creating more jobs and growing its pension funds.
“We need to lift the retirement age. However, we should let senior workers decide for themselves,” labor expert Nguyen Huu Dung told VnExpress. With elderly Vietnamese leading healthier lives, Dung argued that most Vietnamese aged 60 to 69 are capable of working longer than they do; however the expert also expressed concern regarding the effect such a proposal might have on employment opportunities for young Vietnamese.
According to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the number of elderly Vietnamese is expected to triple from 6.3 million in 2015 to 18 million in 2040, or 18% of the country’s total population. By comparison, the same population rose from 2% to 7% between 1960 and 2015.
While public feedback for such proposals has been mixed, labor experts agree that Vietnam’s retirement age must be increased in order to maintain a strong economy and stable workforce.
Last year, a World Bank report ranked Vietnam among the world’s fastest-aging nations. While resistance to a retirement age increase may persist, this new data is helping economists and labor experts to argue their case for keeping elderly workers on as Vietnam navigates this demographic shift.
[Photo via Flickr user Tran.Bao]
