THAILAND WILL need to overhaul old-age benefits offered by its social security scheme to ensure elderly Thais have enough for their retirement life, a senior official said at a crucial forum on the issue.

The Social Security Office (SSO) is now preparing for an overhaul, which will affect about 10 million members of the social security scheme. Most of them are company workers who make monthly contributions in return for what they hope will be “security in their life”, including old-age benefits.

The SSO plans to organise 12 public forums by November 28 to present its ideas and to listen to the opinions of stakeholders.

“We have now proposed five possible measures for the overhaul so as to ensure old-age benefits are adequate for people going into retirement,” SSO inspector-general Aumpun Thuvavit told the first forum on Thursday.

Under the current system, old-age benefits are a maximum of Bt3,000 for people who have submitted maximum monthly contributions to their social-security accounts for 15 full years. While the figure seemed sufficient when the scheme was launched a few decades ago, it would prove to be meagre taking into account the current cost of living.

Old-age benefits, by law, now stand at 20 per cent of members’ average salary during the past 60 months – but not exceeding Bt15,000 salary for calculation – for people making contributions for 15 years. If the contribution period stretches longer, the old-age benefit amount will increase at the rate of 1.5 per cent per additional year of contribution.

“One of the proposed measures is that the retirement age for social-security members extend gradually from 55 years to 60 years from 2022 onwards,” Aumpun said.

She added that another measure was to raise the salary base for the calculation of old-age benefits from between Bt1,650 and Bt15,000 a month to between Bt3,600 and Bt20,000 a month. She said there is also a proposal that contributions for old-age benefits should be be raised from 3 to 5 per cent of salary.

After stakeholders’ opinions are gathered, the SSO will present the final proposal to the analysis committee that will conclude the issue and forward it to the SSO board. If the board gives the green light, the social security law will be amended to pave the way for the overhaul based on the proposal.

Those who cannot attend the forum can make their voices heard via the SSO website till November.

Arrug Phrommanee, adviser to Labour Minister Sirichai Dithakul, said foreign countries had amended their pension law every three years on average.

“But in Thailand, it takes decades for one such amendment,” he said.

He said it was necessary to review whether the old-age benefits would be enough for elderly people considering the current cost of living, as the economic situation had changed in recent decades.

Dr Weeranat Rojanaprapha, an academic specialising in elderly affairs, said care for the elderly should extend to their emotional needs too.

“Security in life is not just about money. They need to maintain their emotional health, feel their value, and find inspiration too,” he added.