The National Savings Fund (NSF) has joined hands with Grab, a ride-hailing, food delivery and payments firm, to support around 100,000 Grab riders in reaching sufficient retirement savings.
The NSF signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on recruiting Grab riders to become NSF members, said NSF secretary-general Jaruluck Ruengsuwan. Grab is responsible for receiving savings from its riders and delivering them to the NSF, said Ms Jaruluck.
The NSF has 21 million members, of which 2.4 million are informal workers.
The NSF has around 200,000 branches nationwide, including Village Funds, branches located at Big C Supercenter and others in district offices.
The NSF's total savings stand at 8 billion baht, which derive from accumulated savings by members and government contributions. By law, NSF members must contribute a minimum of 50 baht per month to the fund, with the maximum amount capped at 13,200 baht.
The NSF is preparing to proceed with a similar MoU with other private organisations who operate ride-hailing and goods delivery services, said Ms Jaruluck.
The fund is a voluntary savings programme for Thailand's greying population in line with the government's 20-year national strategy.
Kengkran Louvirojanakul, head of public affairs at Grab, said the number of registered Grab riders totals 300,000, but active riders tally around 100,000 and the majority of riders are freelancers.
Some 14-15 million users have downloaded the Grab application, with at least 5 million users actively using its services, said Mr Kengkran.
Grab recorded 160 million delivery orders last year, while partnered stores numbered around 80,000, he said.