A labour rights group and some company workers have objected to an idea to extend the age for pension payouts under the social security system from 55 to 60, saying it will do more harm than good.
Suwit Kaewwan, president of the Thai Labour Solidarity Committee (TLSC), recently announced his group's stance against the retirement age extension idea floated by Suradej Waleeittikul, secretary-general of the Social Security Office (SSO).
The TLSC said the idea could limit the rights of workers who already plan to retire at 55.
Mr Suwit said the SSO should never cite the security of the so-called elderly fund as a reason to justify the extension of the period of time workers should be required to continue contributing if the retirement age is extended to 60 as proposed.
The Social Security Fund (SSF) now has about 1.6 trillion baht and the number of members insured under the social security system who regularly contribute to the fund is about 13 million.
According to SSO sources, extending the retirement age is one of several proposals being mooted to ensure the sustainability of the fund.
Under a study, if the state does nothing, the fund will run out in the next 27 years as the number of pensioners is increasing substantially.
Extending the retirement age could lengthen the fund's lifespan to 38 years, according to the study.
Mr Suwit said that rather than extending the eligibility age for pensions, the SSO should consider the TLSC's call to reform the entire social security system to encourage those who are insured under it to participate more as it debates ways to improve the system.
The government should consider increasing its contribution paid into the SSF from 2.75% to the same 5% paid by people insured under the system, he said.
More importantly, the government should speed up its pending transfer of the 90 billion baht in contributions supposed to be paid to the SSF so the money can be used to invest for better returns, he said.
Yongyuth Mentaphao, 54, who works for NHK Spring Co, said he could not agree with extending the eligibility age, as he has made plans to retire earlier.
"They should leave each company to decide their own retirement ages," he said.
Chiraphat Khongsuk, 44, an auto parts factory worker, said blue-collar and white-collar work were different beasts.
People working in an office may be physically fit to continue after 55 years of age, while those working in a factory, for instance, would have a tougher time withstanding physically draining tasks at that age, he said.
"The government and SSO should forget about extending the retirement age," he said.
"Many people, especially those with health problems, are counting down to the day they can stop work," he said.