The mandatory retirement age for government and state enterprise officials will be extended from 60 to 63 under a national reform plan that took effect on Saturday as Thailand addresses problems associated with being an ageing society.
The move is part of a broader plan that will also see measures put in place to encourage elderly state officials to continue their duties until later life.
However, it is expected to take six years to fully implement the later retirement age, meaning it will not be in full effect until 2024.
Under the plan, civil servants who turn 60 in 2019 or 2020 will continue to work for one more year.
Those who were due to retire at age 60 in 2021 or 2022 will stay on in office until they reach 61, while those who turn 60 in 2023 or 2024 will be able to work until they are 63.
After 2024, the mandatory retirement age for all government officials will be 63.
This does not apply to officials of national security agencies or positions that require a high level of physical fitness.
The plan will not impact the recruitment of new officials to replace those who are set to retire.
The Office of the Civil Service Commission and the Office of the Public Sector Development Commission are responsible for implementing the plan.
They will conduct a study to determine which civil service positions should be granted the extension and amend the law governing their pension plans.
The measures were published in the Royal Gazette on Friday, one year after the latest charter was promulgated.
The plans, covering 11 key areas, have been approved by the cabinet as proposed by the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board and the National Legislative Assembly.
The 11 areas are politics, public administration, laws, justice procedures, the economy, natural resources and environment, public health, mass media and IT, social issues, energy and anti-corruption.
The national reform plans are legally binding and state agencies have no option but to implement them, according to Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam.