The Finance Ministry may consider expanding the group of people eligible to purchase retirement lottery tickets.
Currently only informal workers can participate, but the ministry is considering extending the scheme to government officials and employees in the formal sector.
According to Deputy Finance Minister Paopoom Rojanasakul, the retirement lottery -- deemed an innovative form of savings promotion -- specifically aims to create retirement savings for informal workers who are members of the National Savings Fund.
Eligible participants can purchase retirement lottery tickets online for 50 baht per unit, up to a maximum value of 3,000 baht per month. Prizes provide participants with an incentive.
If the ticket does not win, the cost of the ticket accumulates as a form of retirement savings.
The ministry plans proposing the expansion plan to the cabinet, as amendments to the National Savings Fund laws would be required if the plan is approved.
Mr Paopoom said expanding the retirement lottery to government officials and formal sector employees who are covered by social security is unlikely to happen soon, but it could be introduced in a second phase after granting informal workers the right to purchase tickets.
He said the budget allocation for lottery prizes is considered to be comparatively modest, tallying 15 million baht per week or 720 million baht per year.
This amount is deemed relatively low compared with the government's annual spending on elderly pensions, which ranges from 70-80 billion baht per year for 10-11 million individuals aged 60 or above.
Mr Paopoom said earlier the lottery has five first prizes, each worth 1 million baht per week, as well as 10,000 second prizes worth 1,000 baht each.
The lottery uses a digital format and winnings are transferred to the buyer's PromptPay account.