According to readers of Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper, legislative drafters should separate enterprise workers from public sector personnel when establishing retirement age eligibility for pensions.

In the draft amended Law on Social Insurance currently open for public consultation, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) has proposed reducing the minimum contribution tenure required to receive a pension. According to the Ministry, lowering the required contribution years aims to provide pension opportunities for late entrants (starting at ages 45–47) or intermittent contributors who otherwise would not accumulate 20 years of contributions upon reaching retirement age.

Across public forums, numerous workers argue that this proposal overlooks the stark disparities in working conditions and livelihoods across different sectors. Reader Vu Hien questioned: "In my case, I have contributed to social insurance for 17 years and am currently 43 years old. If I have to wait for pension eligibility, I must wait over a decade with no income to sustain my everyday life."

A reader named Danh commented: "We must solicit opinions from workers nationwide regarding this social insurance revision. The retirement age should immediately revert to 55 for men and 50 for women in non-office roles. Workers who have contributed for 30 full years should automatically be entitled to retire on a pension if they so desire." Similarly, reader Nguyen Duc Phuong Tuan remarked: "This revision should lower the retirement age back to previous thresholds—specifically 60 for men and 55 for women with at least 20 continuous years of compulsory contributions, applicable to both private and state sectors."

According to many readers, workers opt for lump-sum withdrawals because they cannot afford to wait until statutory retirement age. To prevent workers from exiting the social security safety net, policymakers should replace strict chronological retirement age limits with required contribution years. Once workers fulfill the mandatory contribution tenure, they should be entitled to draw pensions: higher contributions yield higher pensions, longer tenures yield extended payouts. Workers should have the autonomy to decide their retirement timing.

Reader Tran Dat noted: "Reaching the required contribution tenure should suffice for retirement; the law should not mandate an arbitrary age of 60 or 62. An individual entering the workforce at 18 with compulsory contributions completes 35 years of service by age 53, yet must wait another 9 years to receive their 75% pension. For factory and industrial zone workers performing physical labor, who can guarantee they will survive until that age to enjoy their pension?" Reader Vo Hong Minh argued that the law should distinguish between private sector and civil service employees. Reader Than The Thanh added that workers are less concerned with contribution years than with an excessively high retirement age.