VI Do civil servants whose early retirement benefits are revoked under Decree 154 have to return to work? Where does the money for early retirement benefits paid to civil servants affected by downsizing come from? Let’s find out more with Pham Consult!
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Do civil servants whose early retirement benefits are revoked under Decree 154 have to return to work?
If a civil servant’s early retirement pension is revoked, they will have to return to work based on the following legal grounds:
Clause 6, Article 13 of Decree 154/2025/ND-CP stipulates as follows:
Responsibilities of the Minister, Head of ministerial-level agencies, Head of government agencies, and heads of organizations established by the Government or the Prime Minister that are not public service units:
- In cases where the downsizing of personnel is not carried out in accordance with regulations, the funds used for downsizing shall be recovered and deposited into the state budget, the decisions on downsizing shall be revoked, and those not subject to downsizing shall be reassigned to work; at the same time, the responsibility of the relevant agencies, organizations, units, and individuals shall be considered and handled in accordance with the law for the improper implementation of downsizing regulations.
Point b, Clause 2, Article 14 of Decree 154/2025/ND-CP stipulates:
Responsibilities of the People’s Committee and the Chairman of the People’s Committee of provinces and centrally-administered cities (hereinafter referred to as the provincial level):
- For the Chairman of the People’s Committee at the provincial level:
- a) Approve the list of personnel to be laid off and the budget for personnel reduction of agencies, organizations, and units under their management; and be responsible for this approval decision;
- b) In case of personnel reduction not being implemented in accordance with regulations, recover and deposit into the state budget the funds for personnel reduction, revoke the decisions on personnel reduction, and arrange for those not subject to personnel reduction to return to work; at the same time, consider handling the responsibility of relevant agencies, organizations, units, and individuals and be responsible according to the law for the non-compliance with regulations on personnel reduction.
Therefore, civil servants who are not subject to downsizing will have their early retirement benefits revoked and will be reassigned to work.
Where does the early retirement benefit for civil servants subject to downsizing come from?
The funding for downsizing is stipulated in Article 11 of Decree 154/2025/ND-CP as follows:
Funding for downsizing
- For civil servants; commune-level civil servants and non-specialized personnel at the commune, village, and neighborhood levels: The funding for downsizing is provided by the state budget.
Accordingly, the funding for downsizing or early retirement benefits for civil servants subject to downsizing comes from the state budget.
4 cases where non-specialized commune-level officials retire immediately and are not entitled to early retirement or termination benefits under Decree 154?
Based on Clause 4, Article 9 of Decree 154/2025/ND-CP, the following is stipulated:
Policy for part-time officials at the commune level who retire immediately upon the implementation of the two-tiered local government model as prescribed by the Law on Organization of Local Government:
- Part-time officials at the commune level specified in Clauses 1, 2, and 3 of this Article are not entitled to the policies stipulated in Articles 6, 7, and 8 of this Decree. Furthermore, part-time officials at the commune level who retire immediately upon the implementation of the two-tiered local government model as prescribed by the Law on Organization of Local Government and are assigned to work as part-time officials in villages or residential areas are not entitled to the policies stipulated in this Decree.
In accordance with the above regulations, if the following four cases apply, non-specialized commune-level officials who retire immediately will not be entitled to the early retirement or termination policy under Decree 154, specifically:
Case 1: Non-specialized officials at the commune level who have not yet reached the retirement age as stipulated in Appendix I and Appendix II issued with Decree 135/2020/ND-CP (excluding the subjects mentioned in Case 2) will not be entitled to the early retirement or termination policy, but instead will be entitled to the following benefits:
(1) For those with less than 05 years of service, they will be entitled to the following benefits:
– Entitled to a one-time allowance equal to 0.8 times the current monthly allowance multiplied by the number of months of service.
– Entitled to an allowance equal to 1.5 times the current monthly allowance for each year of service.
– Entitled to a 3-month allowance equivalent to the current monthly allowance for job search.
– Entitled to retain the period of compulsory social insurance contributions or receive a one-time social insurance benefit as prescribed by the law on social insurance.
(2) For those with 5 years or more of service and less than 5 years remaining until retirement age, they are entitled to the following benefits:
– Entitled to a one-time allowance equal to 0.8 times the current monthly allowance multiplied by the number of months of early retirement.
– Entitled to an allowance equal to 1.5 times the current monthly allowance for each year of service.
– Entitled to a 3-month allowance equivalent to the current monthly allowance for job search.
– The period of compulsory social insurance contributions is preserved or a lump-sum social insurance benefit is received according to the provisions of the law on social insurance.
(3) For people with 05 years of work or more and who are 05 years or more away from retirement age, they are entitled to the following benefits:
– A lump-sum allowance equal to 0.8 times the current monthly allowance multiplied by 60 months.
– An allowance equal to 1.5 times the current monthly allowance for each year of work.
– A 03-month allowance of the current monthly allowance is given to find employment.
– The period of compulsory social insurance contributions is preserved or a lump-sum social insurance benefit is received according to the provisions of the law on social insurance.
Case 2: For commune-level officials and civil servants who are reassigned to non-specialized positions at the commune level due to the reorganization of commune-level administrative units in the 2023-2025 period, they will not be entitled to early retirement or termination benefits, but will receive the same benefits as in Case 1.
However, the current monthly salary used to calculate the allowance will be the salary of the immediately preceding month of their position as a commune-level official or civil servant before being reassigned to a non-specialized position at the commune level.
Case 3:
Non-specialized commune-level officials who have reached the retirement age as stipulated in Appendix I and Appendix II of Decree 135/2020/ND-CP, or who are currently receiving retirement benefits or disability benefits, will not be entitled to early retirement or termination benefits, but will receive a one-time allowance equal to 15 months of their current monthly allowance.
Case 4:
Part-time officials at the commune level who retire immediately upon the implementation of the two-tiered local government model as stipulated in the Law on Organization of Local Government and are assigned to work as part-time officials in villages or residential areas are not entitled to the policies stipulated in Decree 154 (including policies on early retirement and termination of employment).
