The decree, to guide the Law on People's Public Security Force, will allow professors to work for 10 more years, associate professors for seven more and doctors and senior experts for five more with effect from July 25.

The normal retirement age in Vietnam is 60 for men and 55 for women.

Officers have to meet certain conditions to get the extension: they must be directly used by their units, not have worked the minimum number of 20 years required to get a pension, meet required health conditions, and have ethics and professional competence.

But they cannot be in leadership positions and can only train others or do research.

They can quit any time during the extension period and get their retirement benefits in full.

In its amendments to the Labor Law, the government has recommended raising the retirement ages from 60 to 62 for men and 55 to 60 for women. The National Assembly will consider the amendments this year.

Vietnam reached an inflection point in 2015 when it became one of the countries with the fastest aging populations in the world.

The number of people over 65 will rise from 6.3 million last year to a projected 18 million by 2040, accounting for more than 18 percent of the population and transforming Vietnam from a young society into an old one, a Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs report quoted the United Nations as saying.

If the current retirement ages remain unchanged, the social insurance fund could be in trouble by 2020 and go bust by 2037, Vietnam Social Security has warned.