Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak has instructed the Fiscal Policy Office (FPO) to consider additional tax incentives as a means to support senior citizens' employment and businesses as Thailand moves towards becoming an aged society.
"In the next four or five years, the number of our senior population in Thailand will be very high, and that could be a big burden for the country," said Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong. "As a result, the deputy prime minister has ordered the FPO to consider additional measures that could support employment of senior citizens or to keep their businesses running after they reach retirement age."
The Finance Ministry is seeking ways for Thais to maintain living standards post-retirement while keeping a lid on the healthcare budget and taking care of the elderly as the population ages.
In 2015, the government successfully pushed for the establishment of the National Savings Fund, a voluntary retirement safety net for 25 million non-formal workers. The long-awaited mandatory provident fund is set to go into force in 2018.
The law requires firms with 100 workers or more to match employees' contributions to the fund within the first four years of enforcement.
Moreover, the cabinet last year approved reverse mortgages and tax incentives for companies that hire senior citizen workers.
The government has forecast that the number of people aged 60 and over will represent 16.8% of the total population in 2020, up from 13.8% in 2015. The figure is estimated to rise to 20% in 2025, when there will be three people of working age for each senior.
In other news, Mr Apisak said two specialised financial institutions have been assigned to introduce job training courses to the government's welfare scheme recipients.
The scheme marks the second phase of the welfare programme after the government offered smart cards for purchasing consumer goods.
The two banks are the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives and Government Savings Bank. The former will be offering training programmes for the poor in the agricultural sector, while the latter will take care of those living in urban areas.
These programmes will equip participants in the training courses with labour skills required in the private sector.
Those eligible for the training programmes must be aged 18 to 60 and registered with the government.
Mr Apisak said the two banks will also offer savings products and loans for the poor with special interest rates.
"The first phase, which is the welfare cards, was aimed at providing temporary assistance, but the training programmes are expected to help raise income and pull them out of poverty in the long run," he said.
The government launched the welfare scheme in October, providing living subsidies to 11.7 million people who had registered with the state as low-income earners or unemployed.
In addition to monthly monetary credits for using public transport, the card also includes a monthly living allowance of 200 or 300 baht, which can be used for grocery shopping at designated Thong Fah Pracha Rat stores.
Mr Apisak said the Finance Ministry is working on the details of the training programmes, which are likely to be launched early next year.
Separately, the Finance Ministry plans to seek cabinet approval today to redirect forgone old-age allowance to the elderly poor, Mr Apisak said, adding that the redistribution would take effect from Dec 1.