PHNOM PENH | Cambodia and Vietnam will increase their retirement ages as the aging population in both Asean countries keeps increasing.
Cambodia’s Ministry of Civil Service has increase the retirement age of all civil servants to 60 years and with this, nearly 2,000 civil servants who are set to retire by year’s end will continue working.
Its current retirement age for civil servants varies from 55 to 60 years old, according to their positions.
The Phnom Penh Post said that with the new ruling, the retirement age has been standardised to 60 years.
Civil Service Minister Pich Bun Thin said those who had reached retirement age in November and had been given pension funds for the first time, were required to return the funds to the government as they can still continue working until the age of 60.
Ministry of Civil Service undersecretary Chut Monny told The Post that the new law would apply to those who are set to retire from November onwards.
“Those who already retired in October will not be affected by the law,” he said.
Meanwhile, Vietnam’s parliament passed a law increasing the nation’s retirement age to 60 years for women and 62 for men.
According to the Vietnam Express, the male retirement age will be gradually increased from 60 to 62 by 2028, while female retirement age would increase from 55 to 60 by 2035. It said that starting 2021, male retirement age would increase by three months per year while female retirement age would increase by four months per year.
Workers however may retire later or sooner depending on their nature of job.
Those working in dangerous environments or doing heavy lifting can retire sooner, while those working in the private sector or in highly skilled jobs can retire later.
The gradual retirement age increase is aimed at preventing abrupt interruptions in the labour market and to maintain political and social stability.
The new retirement ages are also aligned with Vietnamese workers’ health and life expectancy.
Vietnam’s current population is around 96.2 million people, with the percentage of elderly people at around 11.7 per cent. The United Nations has forecasted that the percentage of people over 65 in Vietnam will increase to 12.9 per cent in 2030 and 23 per cent in 2050.
Vietnam Social Security agency had previously warned that as the nation’s population ages, Vietnam’s social insurance fund could be in trouble by 2020 and go bust by 2037 if current retirement ages remain unchanged.
