On November 20, 2024, the Labour Minister, Mr. Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, the Permanent Secretary of Labour, Mr. Boonsong Thapchaiyut, the Ministry of Labour’s Inspector-General and Acting Secretary-General of the Social Security Office, Mrs. Marasri Jairangsi, the Social Security Advisory Board (No. 14), executives and relevant officials of the Social Security Office under the Ministry of Labour, met with executives of the Estonian Social Insurance Board (SIB) in Tallinn, Estonia.
Mr. Phiphat said that the reason he, the Permanent Secretary of Labour, and the Social Security Advisory Board (No. 14) traveled to Estonia this time was to study and exchange information about the social security system of Estonia, including the management of payment of various benefits and good practices of Estonia. Discussions focused mainly on the application of digital technology and the linkage of social security data with other agencies involved in providing services that provide assistance and compensation for all ages using big data. Services range from newborns, providing child support benefits up to 18 years old, unlimited number of people, calculating parental income, collecting educational data, calculating the pay of employees and providing opportunities for the unemployed, to managing income after retirement, using the SKAIS Self-service program to provide services to the public, with staff to provide advice on benefits. Insured persons can calculate their income by themselves, know in advance about their eligibility, and can submit to immediately receive money through the digital program.
Mr. Phiphat continued that Estonia’s social security system has good standards and provides citizens with options to improve their quality of life. It can effectively link data between relevant agencies, making the service process faster and more transparent, reducing the complexity of data management, and providing services that better meet the needs of insured persons. Learning from Estonia’s experience opens up opportunities to improve the services of the Thai social security system to cope with the increasing challenges in the digital age. This will help Thailand move towards a more modern, efficient, and internationally standardized social security.
