More than 146,000 leave jobs under Decree 178. What happens if violations are found?

Vietnam’s Interior Ministry has asked ministries, agencies and provincial governments to act on State Audit recommendations concerning benefits paid under Decree 178, a policy governing early retirement and severance during restructuring of the political system.

By early December 2025, authorities had completed payments and policy implementation under Decree 178, as amended by Decree 67. A total of 146,839 people had received decisions to leave their jobs: 47,913 at the central level and 98,926 in local government. Of these, 71,610 people, or 48.77%, took early retirement, while 75,237 received severance benefits.

State Treasury figures showed that 163.482 trillion Vietnamese dong had been paid to 117,073 people covered by the policy by the end of 2025. The rules allowed eligible civil servants, public employees, workers and members of the armed forces to retire early or leave their jobs, with benefits determined by factors including years of service, the departure date and the time remaining before retirement age.

The policy had a deadline. A Politburo and Secretariat conclusion issued on Aug. 1, 2025, directed agencies to settle benefits for affected personnel before Aug. 31. Decisions had to be issued by that date, with the latest eligible departure date set for Sept. 1. Afterward, early retirement and severance linked to staff streamlining would move under Decree 154.

A State Audit report issued in late July 2026 found that some local governments had not fully issued criteria or guidance for evaluating officials. As a result, decisions about who should leave because of organizational restructuring lacked a consistent basis in some places. The Interior Ministry has instructed agencies and local governments to review and screen affected cases, raising the question of how improperly handled cases will be dealt with.