Vietnam to overhaul pension authorization rules and lower retirement aid age to 70

The Ministry of Home Affairs in Vietnam has drafted amendments to the Social Insurance Law that would eliminate the current 12‑month limit on authorising another person to receive pension benefits. Two options are proposed: one that removes the time cap and aligns the authorization process with civil‑code provisions, and another that retains the existing 12‑month maximum.

In a related proposal, the draft law also suggests gradually reducing the eligibility age for the social pension assistance benefit from the current 75‑year threshold to 70 years, with the possibility of further lowering it when fiscal conditions allow. If adopted, people aged 70‑74 who lack a regular pension could receive a monthly aid of about 500,000‑540,000 đồng, increasing the coverage of old‑age social protection to an estimated 42% of retirees by 2025.