Thailand plans to raise retirement age to 65: reports

Thailand's Labour Ministry has unveiled plans to hike the retirement age to 65 years old for both the private and government sectors, according to reports.

Labour Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn attributed the plan to the current improvements in health and medical advancements, the Bangkok Post reported.

The plan will also put Thailand's retirement age in line with Switzerland and neighbouring Singapore, which plans to raise its retirement age to 65 by 2030.

Thailand's current retirement age for government officials is 60, while it is between 55 and 60 for the private sector, Bloomberg reported.

Other planned labour reforms

The plan to hike the retirement age is just one of the major labour-related reforms considered in Thailand.

Phiphat also said the ministry plans to amend the Social Security Act, according to the Bangkok Post.

Under the planned amendments, the social security benefit will be expanded to cover two million migrant workers, including those from Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia.

It also plans to register self-employed individuals and workers in industries that are currently exempted from the system, such as taxi drivers, delivery riders, agricultural workers, domestic workers, and hawkers.

The minister added that the government is mulling the conversion of the Social Security Fund's fluctuating medical cost into a fixed cost, the Bangkok Post reported.