The social security fund could eventually be in dire financial straits because in the future there will be more money going out than coming in, according to a researcher with the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI).
Worawan Chanduaywit, of the TDRI, said many academics share her concerns that the Social Security Office's (SSO) pension fund could run into deficits in the next 25-30 years.
The fund will begin making payments to pensioners in 2014. The SSO began collecting money from subscribers to the retirement plan in 1999, when the pension fund was first established.
Ms Worawan, director of the TDRI's research on the social security programme, said the fund must be reformed.
If not, the money will quickly run out because there will be too many retirees receiving old-age pension cheques.
It is estimated that after retiring, subscribers to the programme will receive about 3,000 baht per month for the rest of their lives.
Payments will begin when participants reach the age of 55.
It would be a crisis for the more than 10 million retired subscribers if the fund ran out of money in the future, she said.
Ms Worawan said the pension fund must be financially self-sufficient, noting that if it goes under, the law requires the government to come to its rescue.
If that happens, the fund will become a burden shouldered by taxpayers.
Ms Worawan has quit her post with the SSO's Old-Age Pension sub-committee, saying there was no clear intent to solve the pension problems.
She said the panel was more focussed on how to spend the fund's money, such as a proposed project to build homes for the elderly.
As part of the solution, Ms Worawan said employers and employees should contribute more to the pension fund. Currently contributions amount to 3% of participants' salaries.
The age when pensioners begin receiving payments should be extended past 55 years old to allow for more money to accumulate, she added.
Ms Worawan also said the estimated pension payments of 3,000 baht a month will not cover the cost of living today.
"This is a big issue. It requires time to iron out the weak points in the scheme so the subscribers can gain the most benefits from the pension," she said.