March 2024
11Mar

Thailand raises alarm on aging population, declining birth rates

Thailand officials engaged in discussions last week to exchange opinions, seek solutions, and address the challenges of the country's transitioning into an aging society and the younger generation's reluctance to have children. Varawut Silpa-archa, Minister of Social Development and Human Security, chaired the workshop on March 7 at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center. The minister highlighted the demographic structure issues, including the declining birth rate and the increasing average lifespan. It is projected that by 2037, the proportion of children...

March 11, 2024
News, ,
Read more...

April 2023
21Apr

Retirement Savings Behaviours and Covid-19: Evidence from Thailand

By Paul Gerrans, Sunatharee Lhaopadchan & Sirimon Treepongkaruna This paper utilises administrative data from members of the Thai Government Pension Fund to examine voluntary contributions and investment plan change. We find low overall incidence of both behaviours which increased only modestly during the onset of COVID-19. While the major finding is that members are in the minority if they engage in the behaviour regardless of gender, salary, balance, or experience in the fund, the relative probability varies systematically by member...

April 21, 2023
Articles, Savings, , , , , ,
Read more...
21Apr

Thailand: Pensions and Farmers’ Subsidies Top Election Agenda

With the kingdom’s population ageing and the debt-ridden farmers becoming restless, Thailand’s political parties are gearing up for the May 14 elections offering populist policies to woo the votes of both sectors of the population. Over 52 million people are eligible to vote for electing 500 members to the House of Representatives. With campaigning for the election gathering momentum since December 2022, Thai political parties have announced a range of attractive policies to win their votes. These include subsidies for...

April 21, 2023
News, ,
Read more...
05Apr

Aging, Inadequacy, and Fiscal Constraint: The Case of Thailand

By Phitawat Poonpolkul, Ponpoje Porapakkarm & Nada Wasi We use an overlapping generations model to study the challenge in developing countries with a large informal sector and aging populations. We use Thailand as a case study and incorporate its labor market structure and its public pension system into the calibrated model. Unlike developed countries, workers in developing countries commonly transit from the formal sector to the informal sector, which can be in the early stage of their working life. This...

April 5, 2023
Adequacy, Aging, Articles, , , , , ,
Read more...

March 2023
03Mar

Pension Provision in Thailand

By Robert Palacios & Himanshi Jain This report documents the current state of pension provision in Thailand and options for reform that would increase the adequacy and sustainability of the pension system. While the focus here is on income support, the welfare of the elderly depends on many other government policies ranging from labor market policies to aged care and health services. It is also important to assess the pension system in terms of its broader impact on fiscal sustainability...

March 3, 2023
Books, Books, System Characterization, , , , ,
Read more...
02Mar

Thailand. Political parties grapple with funding constraints for pension plans in run-up to general election

“Thailand will be a full-fledged aging society this year, as citizens 60 years old and above will represent 20 per cent of the total population,” said Worawan Plikhamin, deputy secretary-general at the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC), a state-run think-tank. Senior citizens will comprise 30 percent of the country’s population in 2037, making the country a super-aging society. The rising number of senior citizens offer both opportunities and challenges to the country. On the business side, there is scope...

March 2, 2023
News, , ,
Read more...

February 2023
08Feb

Thailand urges informal workers to prepare for their retirement

More than 16 million informal workers in Thailand have not participated in any savings scheme to prepare for their life during retirement even though the country is expected to become an aged society in the next two years. Thai Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said that Thailand is now an aging society as at least 10% of its population has been 60 years old and more since 2005. In the next few years, the country will become an aged society with the...

February 8, 2023
News,
Read more...

March 2021
31Mar

Thailand plans new retirement plan to support its aging population

Thailand aims to create a new retirement program to support an aging population that will add about 1 million new retirees annually starting in 2023. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha wants to ensure that Thais can receive income upon retirement, government spokeswoman Rachada Dhnadirek said Tuesday, after the cabinet approved in principle a new national retirement plan. The program will be mandatory for all employees who aren't participating in other retirement plans, she said. Read also South African retirement fund guidelines are...

March 31, 2021
News, Slider, , , ,
Read more...

November 2020

04Nov

Thailand. NSF aims to provide sustainable pensions for all

The National Savings Fund (NSF) targets a 10-year return of at least 3% for long-term investment in order to provide fund members with sustainable pensions. The voluntary retirement savings fund targets informal workers, and currently holds investments totalling 8 billion baht. Since its inauguration in August 2015, the NSF has registered an average return of 3%, with last year's return at 4.4%, said NSF secretary-general Jaruluck Ruengsuwan. Year-to-date return is 1.6% because of the current domestic and international economic...

November 4, 2020
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...

August 2020

21Aug

Life Insurance: The Savings Solution for the Thai Elderly

By sivalap sukpaiboonwat The main objective of this work is investigating life insurance is the alternative choice of savings for Thai elderly. The study uses primary data from research questionnaire by online survey from the 400 observations in December 2018. The statistics used in the analysis include descriptive statistics composed of the percentage. The research finds the first rank of financial planning is the bank deposit with 32.1 percent, the second rank is life insurance with 27.3 percent and...

August 21, 2020
Articles, Pension design, Savings, , ,
Read more...