Thailand raises retirement age to 65 for all sectors

[wealthychef]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Phiphat stated that the decision to increase the retirement age is influenced by significant advancements in health and medical technology, which have improved life expectancy.

 

Right, we can't have workers working 5 minutes less than their maximum before they die.  While we're at it, let's have a national wage cut!  

[Stuart dunsmore]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand’s Labour Ministry is set to extend the retirement age for both private and government sectors to 65 years, aligning it with countries like Singapore and Switzerland, announced Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn.

 

Phiphat stated that the decision to increase the retirement age is influenced by significant advancements in health and medical technology, which have improved life expectancy.

 

Additionally, the ministry plans to amend the Social Security Act to include approximately two million migrant workers from Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia in the social security benefit scheme.

 

Self-employed individuals and workers in specific industries currently excluded from the Social Security system are also to be incorporated under the amended law. This category encompasses taxi drivers, delivery riders, agricultural workers, domestic workers, and street vendors.

There is also a proposal to raise fund contributions from both employers and employees by 2% each, with the government contributing an additional 2.5%. This would result in a total contribution increase of 6.25%.

 

Plans are in motion to adjust the wage ceiling and salary cap regularly to keep pace with currency value changes.

Phiphat revealed that the ministry is considering converting the Social Security Fund’s largest expense—currently variable medical costs, estimated at 60 billion baht annually, into a fixed cost. By transferring this financial responsibility to an insurance company, the Social Security Office (SSO) could manage floating costs more effectively and improve fund management.

 

The Social Security Fund aims for a return of at least 5% by 2025, an increase from the current 2.3 to 2.4% return in 2023. Achieving this target could extend the fund’s viability by an additional three to four years. Phiphat mentioned that the SSO’s international investments, particularly in the US and European markets, have generated returns of approximately 6 to 7%.

 

Next year, the SSO plans to invest around 65% of its fund in low-risk assets like government bonds and savings, while the remaining 35% will be allocated to higher-risk assets, including domestic and international stocks and real estate.

This marks a shift from the current investment ratio of 70/30. Phiphat emphasised the importance of proactive fund management to ensure sustainable growth amidst an ageing population and to secure the fund’s future financial stability.

 

Phiphat warned that failure to take these actions could result in the depletion of the Social Security Fund within the next 30 years, reported Bangkok Post.

 

by Mitch Connor
Image courtesy of Matichon

 

Source: The Thaiger 

-- 2024-10-26

 

 

 

600฿ a month. I cannot fault your generosity. 
Sad for the elderly & those in need. 
Shocking!! 

[geisha]

3 hours ago, Cabradelmar said:

Has any country ever lowered it's retirement age in the last decade? Underfunded social programs are increasingly the norm. Raising the age seems almost expected.

Yes, but as in most western countries you get social security and a mostly livable retirement pension, most Thais only get peanuts. I think one can compare  Thailand  to Africa.

[ukrules]

Did they issue a decades worth of notice for people approaching 60 years of age like they do in the civilised world when making changed that alter someones entire life?

 

[BigStar]

There may be an opportunity here for older expats 60 - 64 to join an org participating in SSO and then take advantage of Thai SS health insurance later on.

[LukKrueng]

25 minutes ago, sambum said:

And you probably knew a few that died in their 20's 30's 40's (Road accidents etc) 

Yes I do, but dying by accident has nothing to do with retirement age

[billd766]

3 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Does that mean half of the government will be out of work, or will an exemption be made for the trough gobblers.

I would hope that it would apply to ALL Thai politicians, national and local. However I  suspect an exception will be made for them.

[LukKrueng]

23 minutes ago, geisha said:

Do the poor old age living on the streets get anything ? 

Yes they do (or can) - there are government programs for helping the poor. They get an allowance to shop for good and necessaties, tied to their id card, with which they can shop at participating shops. When they reach the age of 60 they get 600B \ month as old age benefits (every Thai citizen gets it regardless of their financial state). There were talks recently to increase it to 1000B \ month, but hasn't happened yet.

[Andycoops]

4 hours ago, Dakhar said:

Taxes 

Taxes

Taxes 

And then you die ...

[zackxx]

Countries all around the world are doing this to reduce their costs and increase their tax take. Counties like New Zealand are incrementally increasing the number of years one must live in NZ before being able to retire at 65 and get superannuation.

 

It was just 10 years since one turned 20 years old and will be the same for those born on or before 30 June 1959. But if born from 1 July 1959 - 30 June 1961 now it's 11 years, from 1 July 1961 - 30 June 1963: 12 years, 1 July 1963 - 30 June 1965: 13 years, etc.

 

They should do an incremental increase in Thailand too so that those at 54 years old, thinking they are turning into the current Thailand retirement age of 55 are not suddenly told you have to work another 10 years.

[Lacessit]

My GF is going to be ropeable. She was looking forward to getting her 600 baht in a couple of years time.

 

The introduction is clumsy, it should have been phased in.

 

The clowns who introduced this change may have cause to regret their actions. Voters will be looking for any means of revenge.

[cedel]

Isn't the system, like in Europe , linked to how many years you have worked in an entire carreer ?

Is there not a possibility to get "pre-pension" or early retirement?

Is this passed in the law and the royal gazette already or just a proposal ?

Is the age of 64 only for thai men, and not for women ?

 

My girlfriend who has worked her whole life maybe since her 17 or 18 years is employed as an accountant in a big thai printing company, she is 51 and told me 2 months ago that she would be retired or could get a pension at the age of 55 !!??

I understand that for the men only it was 60 and for the women it was 55, like it was in Europe at least in Belgium maybe 35 or 40 years ago , the legal age was 60 years for women and 65 for men in Belgium unil 1997, but later progressively until 2009 they put 65 for both , and now increasing to 66 and then to 67 ...maybe that will also worsen soon with the formation of a new government because also here we look desperately to save money and reduce our debts...

A remark thogh:  here (I think also in most western countries), we can stop to work a few years before the legal age if your carreer is long enough but you will receive less pension.

 

My thai gf also told me that she could choose between 2 systems:

- 1: Low allocation (pension) with higher or free medical care 

or 

2-: Higher pension with less medical care

Who is right, who is wrong ?

 

I read above that the they will jump from 60 to 65, I guess then for women from 55 to 60 ?

but this site says 55 for both men and women (!?)

https://bdeex.com/ratings/countries-pensage/

 

After some research I see on internet contradicory informations.

The age would have been harmonized some time ago to both 60 for men and women, but if some employees or employers (?)  have contributed to the SSO, it seems the earlier age would be 55 ?

I read also on some pages abouth ranking of pensions by countries (Thailand nr 105, Norway nr1) that the average pension in Thailand would be 160-180€ /month (!)=170 $  ( https://bdeex.com/ratings/countries-pensions/) while on other websites only 600-700 baht/month increasing with the age until 90 years old, which would be only like 17€/month..? 

 

But as the rules and the governments change all the time, who knows what will happen in Thailand ?

 

[KhaoNiaw]

47 minutes ago, cedel said:

Isn't the system, like in Europe , linked to how many years you have worked in an entire carreer ?

Is there not a possibility to get "pre-pension" or early retirement?

Is this passed in the law and the royal gazette already or just a proposal ?

Is the age of 64 only for thai men, and not for women ?

 

 
Currently, the Thai government sector has retirement age of 60.
The private sector can set a retirement age between 55-60. So if a company has set the age at 55 you're entitled to retire and take your SSO pension then. Employees can continue working beyond the retirement age but are entitled to retire with 30 days' notice once they've passed it. This includes working beyond 60. 

In my case, paying into the SSO system at the full rate for roughly 24 years gives me a pension of around 4,500 baht per month.  
It's sometimes been suggested here that you get the choice of taking a lump sum. In fact, there is no choice. If you have paid into the system less than 180 months, you get a lump sum. If you've paid 180 months or beyond you get the monthly pension. 

[NorthernRyland]

6 hours ago, Cabradelmar said:

Has any country ever lowered it's retirement age in the last decade? Underfunded social programs are increasingly the norm. Raising the age seems almost expected.

You can't have underfunded social programs if the people die first. 🧠🧠🧠🧠

[KhaoNiaw]

Actually, for clarity, I think in the private sector any employee can retire at 55 and receive the SSO payments.
The retirement age mandated by the company comes into play with the lump sum retirement payment that companies are obligated to pay based on the number of years service. I can't remember the exact levels but it's the same as other types of severance pay. In my case, once I hit 20 years with my employer, it meant I was entitled to a payment equivalent to 14 months' salary upon retirement.
So if the company mandated a retirement age of 60, you could still retire and receive your SSO pension at 55. But wouldn't be entitled to the company's final retirement payout. For that, you'd have to stay to 60. 

Edited October 26 by KhaoNiaw

[Gknrd]

China is raising also, demographics are killing China. Predicted here in 10 years the Hun people will be a non factor. Thailand has no choice. All of those countries are just stalling for a little more time.  US and the Americas are also in decline but about 50 years behind China and Thailand.

I hope I live long enough to see how this plays out. Be interesting to see if China and it's allies rule the world or fade into nothing.

Edited October 26 by Gknrd

[eastlight]

9 hours ago, KhunLA said:

I know more than a few, that didn't make to 30 yrs old.  Wife's brother died at 21 yrs old.  One of 8 siblings, so brings the average life expectancy of the family down a bit.

 

It's an average life expectancy.

 

Posted before (off topic), but my life expectancy, born 1954 (USA) is 67 I think, and coincidentally, I had a med oops 2 yrs ago, that potentially could have killed, without intervention, maybe.   Would have been right on time, sort of, as USA Soc Sec starts at 66 for folks born in 1954.

 

I know many family and peers, that didn't make 30-40-50 or 60 years old.  A few didn't even make 20 yrs old.

 

And then there is my cousin (Mother's side) who just passed yesterday, @ 84 yrs old, I think 👍

 

Gives me 14 more years.   Although, I thought I'd beat the odds on long retirement, and did it 24 yrs ago ... JIC 

My grandmother passed away at 100 years and six months.

[kimamey]

9 hours ago, Classic Ray said:

If they transfer the health system to an insurance company (with shareholders and profit expectations) what will that do for access to medical treatment? Will financial limits and access tests and personal contributions be changed to limit the insurance company’s risk?

 

These questions should be answered before this move is approved.

Maybe they think that a private company will make the difficult and unpopular decisions so they don't get the blame.

[redwood1]

8 hours ago, KhunLA said:

If born this year.   By the time those born this year reach 60/65, the goal post may be moved again, to what ... 80/85 

 

Heck lets just make retirement age 100...

[KhaoNiaw]

6 hours ago, geisha said:

Please give me a few examples of retirement payment , 

Farm Worker, shop girl/ sales assistant, construction worker,  bank or office worker . Thank you.

Do the poor old age living on the streets get anything ? 

 

Under the current system, anyone earning over 15,000 baht per month, so a lot of bank and office workers in your examples, with 20+ years of payments will receive an SSO pension of 4-5,000 baht. Lower salaries with lower contributions will receive less. 

 

And most farm workers, construction workers and people on the street are probably not paying into the SSO system. 

 

Employees are also entitled to receive a retirement severance payment from the employer based on their years of service and final salary. So if they've been with a company for 20 years or more, they get a payment equivalent to 400 days' salary, 10 years is 300 days etc. 

 

It maybe of interest to some here that working continuously for an employer on two-year contracts, for example, your years still add up for the final severance payment. 

Edited October 26 by KhaoNiaw

[DavisH]

11 hours ago, Aussie999 said:

Considering you are considered unemployed if only working 1 day, even in your own paddy. Do not be confused with your home country.

Australia is the same, or it was when i was included in the census one year. I was literally only working a couple of hours a week at the time, and the census officer said, ok you are 'employed'. These were the dark Keating years where unemloyment was running at 10%. Horrendous!

[hotchilli]

17 hours ago, Guderian said:

Of course, it makes perfect sense, since Thailand has so many similarities to Singapore and Switzerland, indeed they're almost indistinguishable!

</sarcasm>

Excluding living conditions, cuisine and chocolate... 

</more sarcasm/>

[waders123]

The ultimate goal of this scheme seems to be to transition everyone into a tax-based system, drain personal finances with variable/floating tax plans, and privatize the financial end of their Social Security system using insurance companies. This approach mirrors the U.S. healthcare model, where insurance companies have wildly profited while citizens struggle with inadequate coverage and significant out-of-pocket expenses. It's clear that this model is a failure and has impacted the American middle class the most. For the sake of Thailand's citizens, it's crucial that policymakers carefully consider the potential consequences of such a system and make informed decisions instead of making the insurance companies richer while their citizens become poorer.  I wish the best for everyone.

[JoePai]

9 hours ago, KhaoNiaw said:

 

Under the current system, anyone earning over 15,000 baht per month, so a lot of bank and office workers in your examples, with 20+ years of payments will receive an SSO pension of 4-5,000 baht. Lower salaries with lower contributions will receive less. 

 

Anyone know the maximum the SSO will pay out per month if you have worked for 20+ years ? 

[KhaoNiaw]

13 minutes ago, JoePai said:

Anyone know the maximum the SSO will pay out per month if you have worked for 20+ years ? 

 

It will be between 4-5,000 baht per month.  I get around 4,500 baht based on 23+ years. 

It only takes about 5 years to get back what I put in. There's a fair chance I could live another 20 years so I guess this is one of the problems for the current system where the falling birthrate will continue to affect the size of the workforce. One of the reasons why they want to bring the MOU workers from neighbouring countries into the system. 

Edited October 27 by KhaoNiaw

[LukKrueng]

13 hours ago, KhaoNiaw said:

It's sometimes been suggested here that you get the choice of taking a lump sum. In fact, there is no choice. If you have paid into the system less than 180 months, you get a lump sum. If you've paid 180 months or beyond you get the monthly pension. 

Don't know if there were changed to the system in the last 10 years or so, but around that time I was at the border line and at the right age. I was told by the social security offices that I can choose between a lump-sum and monthly payment, but if I make 1 more payment to them then I could only have the monthly payment.

[JoePai]

31 minutes ago, KhaoNiaw said:

 

It will be between 4-5,000 baht per month.  I get around 4,500 baht based on 23+ years. 

It only takes about 5 years to get back what I put in. There's a fair chance I could live another 20 years so I guess this is one of the problems for the current system where the falling birthrate will continue to affect the size of the workforce. One of the reasons why they want to bring the MOU workers from neighbouring countries into the system. 

Thank you

[bigt3116]

21 hours ago, watchcat said:

That's great, people has to wait a few years more until they can get the measley pension of 600 baht/ month.

 

That amount is for people who have not contributed to the Thai Social Security.

 

A quick check of what I would get in a couple of years comes out at 12,400 a month

 

[bigt3116]

37 minutes ago, LukKrueng said:

It's sometimes been suggested here that you get the choice of taking a lump sum. In fact, there is no choice. If you have paid into the system less than 180 months, you get a lump sum. If you've paid 180 months or beyond you get the monthly pension. 

 

I was also informed that if you take the pension, you can NOT continue with the 432 baht for healthcare, and that is too greater benefit to give up

[KhaoNiaw]

2 minutes ago, bigt3116 said:

 

That amount is for people who have not contributed to the Thai Social Security.

 

A quick check of what I would get in a couple of years comes out at 12,400 a month

 

Seems way too high. How are you doing the calculation?