Nguyen Quang Dung, director of the Public Servants and Employees Department under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), addressed challenging questions about Decree 178/2024 (amended and supplemented by Decree 67/2025) on policies and benefits for cadres, public servants, employees, workers, and armed forces following the reorganization of the political system’s structure.

Benefits for state budget

Dung said commune-level staff currently handle enforcement tasks. After district-level units’ operations cease, 129 district tasks will be transferred to communes. Some public servants may not immediately meet the new job requirements.

Thus, provincial and district cadres and public servants will be reassigned to communes as key officials. Capable and experienced commune-level public servants will be placed in specialized departments. Those unable to meet new requirements will initially be retained but gradually streamlined.

“Those wishing to retire early will be satisfied under Decree 178’s policies. I believe many will retire, as the decree’s policies are very favorable,” Dung said.

Regarding concerns that the state budget must pay huge sums to support early retiring public servants, Dung said the Ministry of Finance has calculated the amount and balanced the budget. 

“If we compare maintaining the current payroll with streamlining the payroll of civil servants and public employees with compensations and allowances, we will see that the latter will bring bigger benefits,” he explained.

“The state won’t have to pay trade union fees, health insurance, administrative costs for public servants’ presence, and public duty expenses. Calculations show that after 5 years, the budget will benefit more than continuing to pay salaries,” he said. 

“Meanwhile, work efficiency will improve, becoming leaner, more effective, and more productive. In the long term, the budget saves significantly,” Dung added.

After Decree 178 was issued, many people complained that they fought in the war and retired without compensation, while retired public servants now can get hundreds of million, or even billions of VND, and still receive pensions.

“I explained that different stages need different policies. But if we resolve it according to Decree 178, the State will still benefit,” Dung said.

Not everyone requesting to retire will be approved

Amid concerns about the “burden” on the state budget once the state has to pay for early retirements under Decree 178 and Decree 67, some worry that even qualified, capable individuals might request early retirement due to the promised attractive allowances.

Dung noted that Decree 178 and Decree 67 set strict regulations. Not everyone requesting retirement will be approved. Agencies and units managing cadres and public servants must assess and review who fails to meet new requirements before allowing retirement.

Dung added that before Decree 178 was issued, the Politburo required policies to ensure benefits for those directly affected by the reorganization while retaining capable individuals and removing those unable to meet job demands.

Regarding concerns that those staying must handle heavier, tougher workloads with unchanged salaries, while new position-based salary policies are still under study and not yet applicable, Dung expressed confidence: “For those chosen to stay in this streamlining revolution, it’s an honor.”

“I can see that many young people want to work and contribute to organizational reform, not just focus on salaries. Some could earn tens of millions monthly if they work in the private economic sector. If they had just wanted high pay, they’d have left long ago. But they stay to contribute to the public sector,” Dung said.

According to Dung, the country currently has about 212,000 commune-level cadres and public servants.

Under Government Decree 33, commune-level public servants must have a university degree or higher, except in certain difficult areas. In reality, 92.42 percent of public servants meet this requirement.

After the reorganization, provinces are expected to reduce over 18,400 positions; communes will cut over 110,000 positions; and over 120,500 non-professional workers at the commune level will cease activities nationwide. From 2026-2030, this is projected to save the state budget over VND190,000 billion, averaging about VND38,000 billion per year, excluding other costs, according to the Central Organization Commission.

Some VietNamNet readers said they hope MHA considers more flexible regulations for retaining or approving the retirement of public servants and workers based on personal wishes. Many public servants who want to retire may not be approved, while many workers who want to continue to work may be forced to retire. 

Benefits should align with competence, but not retiring is seen as a benefit, while competence comes with no benefits, they noted. Those lacking competence are allowed to retire with a lump-sum payment and “live comfortably,” while competent individuals are not allowed to retire.

Thu Hang - Nguyen Thao