Thailand’s Finance Ministry Spearheading an Effort to Cancel Old-Age Allowances

[webfact]

Thailand’s Finance Ministry Spearheading an Effort to Cancel Old-Age Allowances

BANGKOK – Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak has ordered the Finance Ministry to study tax incentives to spur the private sector to hire more elderly employees as part of a plan to address the problem of an ageing society, which is straining state coffers.

Mr Somkid said Monday that he had discussed the issue with Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong, policies to support older workers could include tax incentives for companies to hire them and an extension of the retirement age.

The government has sought to extend the retirement age of government officials from 60 to 65 years of age.

Full story: http://www.chiangraitimes.com/thailands-finance-ministry-spearheading-an-effort-to-cancel-old-age-allowances.html


-- Chiang Rai Times 2016-07-06

[rkidlad]

Welcome to the rest of the world, Thailnd. Upping the retirement age and cutting benefits. There's no better way to become more unpopular.

The best start for me would be a crackdown on tax evasion and corruption: lots of money for the public there.

And when employing people: best man for the job. I've seen many job ads in Thailand asking for 'experienced' this and that. Then noticed a stipulation on age. Bizarre stipulations like 'Female 25-30'. Need to introduce laws where you have to employ all.

[ezzra]

The 75 years old mother of a friend of mine receives 800 baht a month as a pension after a life time

working and paying taxes at a government job, just as well, this lady has a loving children to supplements

her living expenses in the thousands per month,

Thailand has the billions to blow on failed rice schemas and buy several submarines no one real needs

and other frivolous acquisitions, but let their poor and sick elderlies languish in poverty......

[edwinchester]

Wifey has quite a few friends employed in the public sector and they are really nice, friendly and decent people. The problem as I see it is that there is just not the work for them all. All seem to be sat around tapping their smartphones for hours during the day waiting their turn to shuffle a few papers before the next post or chat about last night's soap.

I won't go on about military numbers but at the army base near us there are recruits seemingly permanently giving the barb wire surround a nice fresh white coat of paint so safe to say numbers could be lost and nobody would notice.

[gandalf12]

A wonderful example of Thai love Thai

[Roadman]

The 75 years old mother of a friend of mine receives 800 baht a month as a pension after a life time

working and paying taxes at a government job, just as well, this lady has a loving children to supplements

her living expenses in the thousands per month,

Thailand has the billions to blow on failed rice schemas and buy several submarines no one real needs

and other frivolous acquisitions, but let their poor and sick elderlies languish in poverty......

Part of the problem is also some occupations are loaded with life time pensions at the rate they retired (case in point my sister in law retiring at 60 on 28,000 Baht a month till she dies while she could still do that work to 65) while others get the pittance you mention. A fairer way would be a universal same rate pension paid from the current pension blow outs which the best western democracies apply but then that is requiring Thailand to get past their patronage system to equality which ain't gonna happen as Thailand finds that as normal protocol. The billions are blown everywhere.

[jlwilliamsjr18]

First, they're looking at opportunities for the elderly to work, then the truth comes out, to cut elderly allowances.

Why not take a next step, asking elderly to volunteer for termination? I'm not serious, am I?

[Asiantravel]

At the very least the pensioners should get a free ride on the Chinese submarine

[gandalf12]

First, they're looking at opportunities for the elderly to work, then the truth comes out, to cut elderly allowances.

Why not take a next step, asking elderly to volunteer for termination? I'm not serious, am I?

Great idea with just one small point. Thailand is obsessive about age. You see adverts for people to clean the toilets who must "be 23 to 28, of good appearance with at least M6 education" and so on. With the stifled attitude they have as good and as practical as your point is it just wont happen. Thailand has yet to come to grips with the idea that age brings experience and that is invaluable

[robblok]

The 75 years old mother of a friend of mine receives 800 baht a month as a pension after a life time

working and paying taxes at a government job, just as well, this lady has a loving children to supplements

her living expenses in the thousands per month,

Thailand has the billions to blow on failed rice schemas and buy several submarines no one real needs

and other frivolous acquisitions, but let their poor and sick elderlies languish in poverty......

Part of the problem is also some occupations are loaded with life time pensions at the rate they retired (case in point my sister in law retiring at 60 on 28,000 Baht a month till she dies while she could still do that work to 65) while others get the pittance you mention. A fairer way would be a universal same rate pension paid from the current pension blow outs which the best western democracies apply but then that is requiring Thailand to get past their patronage system to equality which ain't gonna happen as Thailand finds that as normal protocol. The billions are blown everywhere.

That is just part of the job some jobs have good pensions and you get less salary. It would be unfair to cut those as that was part of the deal when people signed on.

[Jeffrey346]

The answer is simple.. All Thailand needs to do is implement a Real Estate Tax of B100 for every home and B200 for every commercial building.

That would generate enough money to build a proper infrastructure and retirement plan.

[Alive]

The issue really is the same everywhere, people really don't care about others. The wealthy have power and the offices and they don't care about the poor. The poor would probably be the same were they the wealthy. The leaders of this nation are too morally bankrupt and stupid to force change for the betterment of all. The world wants super rich and other entities like this to have their wealth. On the people rising up will change things but that won't happen in Thailand soon.

[clockman]

Greed and corruption, is the Thai mantra. Come back in 50 years time!

[chainarong]

The trouble with Thailand it wants everything , and being a third world emerging economy in stagnation it can't , it wont help having the buy up of the centery with Military hard wear and high speed trains ( which the Chinese have costed in Phnom Penh for fifty clicks of track at 250 million USD ) while the country suffers from floods , droughts , poorly educated society, a multitude of social problems including aged pensions ,and other ASEAN countries attracting investment away, the old saying of get your house in order first, never a truer word said in Thailand........................................

[chainarong]

The issue really is the same everywhere, people really don't care about others. The wealthy have power and the offices and they don't care about the poor. The poor would probably be the same were they the wealthy. The leaders of this nation are too morally bankrupt and stupid to force change for the betterment of all. The world wants super rich and other entities like this to have their wealth. On the people rising up will change things but that won't happen in Thailand soon.

The people rising up may happen ,as it has before , but nothing will change.

[sharecropper]

Yet we really need those subs.

[Jimbo2014]

The streets are going to be flooded with Som Tam Sellers

[tuanku]

At the very least the pensioners should get a free ride on the Chinese submarine

That sounds rather like euthanasia to me - who's driving?

[halloween]

Many countries are increasing the retirement age as life expectancy increases and the OAP becomes more and more a burden on taxpayers. In Oz the retirement age was incrementally raised to 67 and there is mention of raising that to 70. Incremental steps mean only a small percentage are affected in any one step, the others who will be affected have time to accept that is the way it will be. Greece found out the consequences of not addressing the issue.

BTW IIRC the reason OAP age for men was set at 65 was that most would die in the 5 following years. Their failure to understand their end of the plan has caused all the problems.

[Eric Loh]

Yes for submarines. No for old fart pensions. That's how we take care of the people and bring happiness, Prayut style.

[gandalf12]

Yes for submarines. No for old fart pensions. That's how we take care of the people and bring happiness, Prayut style.

Just think of the smile everyone will get when the submarine dives and someone decides to open a window to let some air in

[hawker9000]

Once the welfare genie is out of the bottle, Thailand's gonna' find it just doesn't go back. Two main reasons: the fraud, bureaucracy ,and corruption that go with it, and the sense of entitlement that's been inbred because of it Start warming up those printing presses. Oh, and Bernie Sanders might be available to advise soon...

[worgeordie]

Well they do need as much money as possible for the Sub fleet,

old people,they are just going to die anyway.

regards worgeordie

[DrTuner]

Never trust anyone else except yourself to provide pension. The public schemes are just a form of robbery.

[scorecard]

Very misleading headline. Is the main mess in this report 'cancel old-age Allowances'? No.

[fforest1]

Maybe the elderly can get jobs running the new submarines...

As the submarines sit in dock rusting away year after year the elderly

can keep the subs manned and keep a mean game of backgammon

going...Then a claim can be made that the subs

were a wise investment that is being used every

day...

[elgordo38]

First, they're looking at opportunities for the elderly to work, then the truth comes out, to cut elderly allowances.

Why not take a next step, asking elderly to volunteer for termination? I'm not serious, am I?

Watch the movie Soylent Green you can recycle them as well into food which will be scarce in the future. How can you talk about cancelling 600 baht pension payments when you should be talking about quadrupling them. Its insane. Subs planes guns tanks wars become more important than people??

[elgordo38]

Welcome to the rest of the world, Thailnd. Upping the retirement age and cutting benefits. There's no better way to become more unpopular.

The best start for me would be a crackdown on tax evasion and corruption: lots of money for the public there.

And when employing people: best man for the job. I've seen many job ads in Thailand asking for 'experienced' this and that. Then noticed a stipulation on age. Bizarre stipulations like 'Female 25-30'. Need to introduce laws where you have to employ all.

My g/f is 27 no degrees except for the ones that life gives you speaks good English could think around under and over top of most of the so called "educated" people here. She would be a great asset for a major corporation that does business here with English speaking people and would be a natural for Chiang Mai with all of its foreigners. She tells me that being closed to 30 years of age with no degree there would be little in the way of "meaningful" employment open to her. They would sooner hire younger degree carrying dunderheads. I go to an electronics store here that boasts of being the largest in Thailand and it is a stretch to get 1 English speaking person (who does not understand English) to enter into a meaningful conversation with. I usually get the eye spinning thingee when I asked them something. She told me she would take over the day to day running of the store fire half of the personal and put the rest on a salary plus bonus/incentive (if there is such a thing here) system. The rest would be required to have a prominent second language and sales would increase by 30%. She also stated she would overhaul the stores inventory and get rid of 25% of the junk that never sells and introduce new "moving" product. Its amazing to walk into this store with about 30 employees all monitoring their mobiles. If your a foreigner they avoid you like the plague when you walk in.

[chainarong]

Well they do need as much money as possible for the Sub fleet,

old people,they are just going to die anyway.

regards worgeordie ,

Chinese Subs can also Die , without proper expertise and maintenance the abacus board may explode in the gulf of Thailand.

[Khon Kaen Dave]

My mil is 77 years old,she gets 700 baht a month.She is a kind hearten old girl and offers me the money.I never take it.how could she work?doing what?.Shes lucky,i take care of her,'cos i want to.It says that these payments are straining the coffers.Well if the greedy bastards had not plundered them first.there wouldnt be a problem.How can a country rob its elderly of the pittance they get already.This guy is a real nice bastard.

Thai rak Thai,dont make me laugh!.