Academics Urge Parties to Lead Social Security Reform

Picture courtesy of ThaiRath

Thai academics have called on political parties to take the lead in reforming the country’s social security system, arguing that legal and structural changes could significantly improve transparency, efficiency and investment performance. The proposal centres on amending the Social Security Act of 1990 to change the status of the Social Security Office (SSO) from a traditional government department to a state-supervised agency. Supporters say the reform could be completed within two years if driven by strong political commitment.

The call was made by Assistant Professor Dr Thor Peetidl, an economist at Thammasat University, who said reform must be led by political parties to succeed. He argued that without clear leadership from political actors, meaningful change to the SSO would be difficult to achieve. He urged all parties to make social security reform a core policy priority.

Thailand’s Social Security Office currently operates under the Ministry of Labour as part of the civil service system. Critics have long raised concerns about its administrative rigidity, limited transparency and relatively weak investment returns despite its vast assets. The social security fund has accumulated investments worth about 2.9 trillion baht, making it one of the country’s largest public funds.

Dr Thor said the proposed reform would not involve privatisation or handing management to the private sector. Instead, the SSO would become a legal entity under state supervision, similar to agencies such as the National Health Security Office (NHSO) and the Government Pension Fund (GPF). This change, he said, would give the SSO greater independence, flexibility and transparency while maintaining existing state oversight mechanisms.

Under the proposal, the SSO’s roles would be more clearly separated, with professionals brought in to manage healthcare benefits, old-age pensions and investments. Healthcare benefits for insured workers could be managed in coordination with the NHSO, while maintaining some advantages over the universal healthcare scheme. Investment and pension management could follow a model similar to the GPF to achieve more appropriate returns.

Dr Thor also highlighted the need to attract more informal workers into the social security system. He warned that failure to do so would increase future fiscal pressure as more informal workers reach old age and rely on state-funded allowances, which may be insufficient for living costs. Strengthening the pension system now, he said, would be less costly than expanding elderly allowances later.

ThaiRath reported that he added that the existing system of electing insured representatives to the Social Security Board should be retained. Concerns about diversity could be addressed by increasing the number of board members from both employee and employer groups. However, he acknowledged major challenges, including transitioning civil servants to new employment conditions and managing potential tensions with the Ministry of Labour, similar to issues seen when the NHSO was separated from the Ministry of Public Health.

Key Takeaways

• Academics propose changing the SSO into a state-supervised agency within two years.

• The social security fund holds about 2.9 trillion baht but delivers limited returns.

• Political leadership is seen as essential to overcome legal and bureaucratic obstacles.

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Adapted by ASEAN Now from Thairath 2026-01-30