HANOI, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's National Assembly, the country's top legislature, agreed on Friday to hike the base salary from the current 1.49 million Vietnamese dong (60.1 U.S. dollars) to 1.8 million Vietnamese dong (72.6 dollars) per month from July 1, 2023, local media reported.
Under a resolution adopted by the National Assembly on Friday, pensions and social insurance benefits for people who retired before 1995 will increase by 12.5 percent. Spending on social security policies which are linked to the base salary will rise by 20.8 percent, Quan Doi Nhan Dan (People's Army Newspaper) reported.
The top legislature also agreed on Friday to hike the occupational incentive allowance for preventive medicine and grassroots health workers from January 1, 2023.
The total expenditure on salary reform, adjustment of pensions, certain allowances, and social security policies is 12.5 trillion Vietnamese dong (more than 504 million dollars) a year.
Base salary is applied to the state sector only. Actual salaries are calculated by multiplying the base salary, with a coefficient determined by qualification and experience.
Vietnam had an average income per capita of over 4.2 million Vietnamese dong (some 170 dollars) per month in 2021, according to its General Statistics Office. The country's GDP per capita was 3,743 dollars last year.
