Labour advocates will petition the Social Security Committee (SSC) to allow subscribers to its pension fund to choose whether to opt out of pension payouts between the age of 55 and 60, amid a proposal to change the system.
Subscribers are currently required to make contributions to the fund until they reach the age of 55 before they can receive a pension. But the Social Security Office (SSO) has proposed a plan to extend the age to 60, adding it will proceed cautiously with its implementation and offer more investment options.
The proposal has drawn flak from labour advocates who say such a move would affect people who retire at 55 and rely on a pension after retirement.
President of the Automobile Labour Congress Of Thailand, Manit Promareekul, who represents the labour faction of the SSC, said the SSO's academic panel will lodge the petition with the SSC today.
The SSC academic panel agreed payments should be done on a voluntary basis. Those 55-year-old subscribers who have made contributions to the fund for the last 15 years should still be able to receive their pensions, Mr Manit said.
However, a proposal will also be presented to the SSC to encourage subscribers to continue contributing to the fund even after they turn 55, he said.
Mr Manit said employee representatives of the SSC have made it clear that subscribers should have the right to consider staying in the fund after 55. They should not be forced to carry on contributing to fund until 60 given that around 80% of company employees retire at 55.
Somporn Kwannet, deputy chairman of the Thai Labour Solidarity Committee, said the social security system needs to be reformed, as such systems are open to abuse and corruption.
Aumpun Thuvavit, inspector of the SSO, said the agency will organise a public hearing on the changes to the pension subscription scheme.