Government-run pension schemes in many countries, including Thailand, are poorly managed and not geared to supporting an ageing population, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has warned.
Park Donghyun, principal economist at the ADB's economics and research department, said a recent study concluded that hundreds of millions of workers in many Asian countries, including Thailand, are facing financial insecurity upon retirement.
Their pension funds may not be able to support them in the future as they are poorly managed by the respective governments.
Mr Park said different age groups have not been able to keep up with the rapid economic change in Asia, and if no action is taken now the burden will fall on the younger generations.
The ADB economist said there is a significant disparity in the current pension systems.
In Thailand, the existing system covers just 27% of all private formal sector workers, 14% in Indonesia and 20% in Vietnam. The pension programs will have to expand eight fold to cover all workers.
The study report also concludes that the elderly will no longer be able to rely on their families to support them because the changing nature of their cultures.