Thailand Raises Retirement Age to 65 Amid 'Low Birthrate and Aging Population' Concerns

Thailand, facing severe low birth rates and aging population, has decided to raise the retirement age in both the public and private sectors to 65.

According to local media such as the Bangkok Post and major foreign news outlets on the 26th, Pipat Ratchakitprakarn, Thailand's Minister of Labor, announced plans to raise the retirement age in both government and private sectors accordingly.

According to the Thai Ministry of Labor, the current retirement age is 60 for civil servants and public institution employees, and 55 to 60 for the private sector.

Thailand is considered one of the countries with severe aging worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Thailand's life expectancy in 2021 was 75.3 years, an increase of more than 4 years compared to 2000. On the other hand, the total fertility rate (the expected number of children a woman will have in her lifetime) has recently fallen to around 1.16.

Minister Pipat explained that without any measures, the social security fund could be depleted within the next 30 years, and thus set goals to raise the retirement age and increase the social security fund's operating return rate from 2.3?2.4% last year to at least 5% next year.

Wat Pho Temple in Bangkok, Thailand [Photo by Yonhap News]

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The Thai government plans to manage 35% of the social security fund's assets next year through high-risk assets such as domestic and foreign stocks and real estate, and 65% through low-risk assets such as government bonds and savings.

The Ministry of Labor also plans to amend the Social Security Act to expand social security benefits to 2 million migrant workers from Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia.

Singapore, which is also experiencing severe aging like Thailand, began raising the retirement age to 63 in 2022 and plans to increase it to 65 by 2030.

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