On November 18, 2024, at 13.30 hours local time in Sweden, 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 Swedish Pension Agency in Stockholm, Sweden.
Mr. Phiphat said that the reason that he, the Permanent Secretary of Labour, and the Social Security Advisory Board (No. 14) traveled to Sweden this time was to study and observe. Importantly, they took this opportunity to exchange information on pension system development guidelines. There were three topics of study and discussion: pension management to ensure sufficiency for all citizens, sustainable pension investment management, and communication and the use of technology and digital innovation to facilitate public understanding in providing services to insured persons. The parties exchanged ideas on pension system development to suit the changing demographic situation in Thailand, which currently has a rapidly aging population, such as flexible and appropriate retirement age determination methods and pension calculation guidelines to accommodate the needs of pensioners in the long term.
“This discussion reflects the Ministry of Labour’s intention, through the Social Security Office, to develop a pension system that responds to the needs of an aging society. Currently, some plans have been made to reform the social security system, including upgrading services with digital technology to increase convenience and transparency in pension management, as well as creating new standards that can be applied to the social security system in Thailand in the future,” said Mr. Phiphat.
The Permanent Secretary of Labour, Mr. Boonsong Thapchaiyut, added that there is data to study investments to create sustainability for the fund. The Swedish Pensions Agency reported that the operation has various forms, including setting a pension index that varies according to multiple factors, such as average wages throughout the working life and changing average life expectancy, as well as setting up a Buffer Fund to manage the difference between incoming contributions and outgoing pension benefits at each period, as well as specifying a pension formula that creates sustainability for the fund in the law for clarity.
On the Social Security Advisory Board’s side, Ms. Siriwan Romchatthong said that she had learned about which direction the country should adjust in the aging society. Old systems should innovate. A good example is Sweden. Although there are cultural and discipline differences, there should be a start.
Mr. Thanapong Chueamuangphan said that Thailand does not have a separate pension fund management like Sweden. From the study, he said they would like to improve Thailand’s social security to have more pension development in the future.
Mr. Somjint Sornpaisarn said that the visit was very beneficial. Sweden has one of the top pension management structures in the world. What is very interesting is the prediction of how long the fund will last. Once it is known, various designs can be made.
Director-General of the Swedish Pensions Authority, Ms. Anna Pettersson Vestebe, welcomed the delegation of ministers, executives, and the Social Security Advisory Board. The Swedish Pensions Authority was established over 100 years ago and has continuously evolved to be recognized worldwide as one of the best pension systems in the world, offering a wide range of benefits for over 50, covering benefits from birth to death. The system creates adequate pensions for all Swedish citizens, using an integration between contributions from the government, employers, insured persons, and voluntary sectors, as well as an incentive system for insured persons to stay in the system longer, from the minimum retirement age that has been gradually increased, currently set at 63 years, including an incentive system for those who have reached the minimum retirement age to receive only a portion of their pension in order to receive more benefits when they retire.
“The Swedish Pensions Authority is pleased to provide information and cooperation and fully support the work of the Social Security Office of Thailand. We would also like to see the growth moving forward to benefit all citizens as intended. If there is an opportunity, we will travel to Thailand,” concluded Ms. Anna.
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Division of Public Relations
