Vietnam raises pensions and adjusts retirement benefits starting July 2026

From 1 July 2026 Vietnam will implement Decree 162/2026/ND‑CP, increasing statutory pensions and other social‑insurance payments by 8% for about 3.5 million beneficiaries. Retirees whose post‑increase entitlement is 3.5 million VND or less receive an additional 300,000 VND per month, while those whose entitlement falls between 3.5 million and 3.8 million VND are raised to a floor of 3.8 million VND.

The new minimum wage base is set at 2.53 million VND, triggering parallel adjustments to a range of allowances—including birth, burial, disability and accident benefits—based on the same base. The July pension disbursement schedule varies by province, with 21 provinces paying on 1 July and 13 provinces on 2 July.

Separate regulations clarify early‑retirement eligibility under Decree 154, limiting voluntary early retirement to staff‑reduction cases and detailing supplemental payments for qualifying workers. Additional guidance issued in 2026 also defines copyright fees for cafés and restaurants, calculated as the salary base multiplied by a coefficient, capped at 20 million VND per year, with penalties for non‑payment. Finally, the Ministry of Education confirmed that teachers’ seniority allowances are accrued from periods of compulsory social‑insurance contributions during teaching service.