Committee to consider plight of elderly people told return allowances

Committee to consider plight of elderly people told return allowances

Prachuap Phadawan, 73, one of 13 elderly peole in tambon Cho Ho in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Muang district told to pay back age allowances. She must refund 77,737 baht to the tambon Cho Ho municipality. She shows a photo of her late husband to local reporters on Jan 28. He was a border patrol officer who lost his life during a fight against communists in Nakhon Phanom in 1972. (Photo: Prasit Tangprasert)
Prachuap Phadawan, 73, one of 13 elderly peole in tambon Cho Ho in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Muang district told to pay back age allowances. She must refund 77,737 baht to the tambon Cho Ho municipality. She shows a photo of her late husband to local reporters on Jan 28. He was a border patrol officer who lost his life during a fight against communists in Nakhon Phanom in 1972. (Photo: Prasit Tangprasert)

The National Committee for the Elderly will meet on Friday to consider the plight of pensioners told to return their living allowances to the Comptroller General’s Department.

Social Development and Human Security Minister Juti Krairiksh announced the move on Thursday in the House of Representatives in reply to a question by Maha Sarakham MP  Yutthaphong Charasathien (Pheu Thai).

Mr Yutthaphong drew the prime minister's attention to the problems of elderly people being asked to return living allowances they have received for many years, after suddenly being ruled ineligible.

Mr Juti said the government began paying living allowances to senior citizens nationwide in 2009, in line with legislation he had proposed.

Mr Juti was a Democrat MP in 2009. 

At the time, the country’s elderly population was not large. It had since risen to 20% of the  population last year, or about 12 million senior citizens, the minister said.

The population was ageing, and by 2035 the figure was projected to reach 20 million, or 30% of the population, according to Mr Juti.

In 2016, the Comptroller’s General Department and the Local Administration Department had integrated their data and found that about 15,300 of  the then 10.1 million senior citizens had claimed more than one entitlement.

The government had tackled the problem by asking elderly people who were told to return their living allowances to contact lawyers and get advice, he said.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha had instructed the responsible agencies to work together to solve the problem, to avoid affecting the elderly unduly but remain within the law, said Mr Juti.

"Tomorrow (Friday), the National Committee for the Elderly will hold an urgent meeting to find a way out of the legal problems regarding this issue.

"The panel initially agreed that people should not be asked to return living allowances. In  the case of elderly people who receive special pensions (on top of their living allowances), it was found there are 24 types of special pensions and other state benefits.

"The committee will provide justice and consider the matter on a case-by-case basis," Mr Juti said.

Earlier, the Lawyers Council of Thailand urged provincial lawyer councils to assist elderly people ordered to pay back their living allowances to the Comptroller General’s Department.

It was reported the department had asked quite few elderly people to return pension payments - in one case as much as 84,000 baht paid over many years.

Those targeted were widows and parents of state officials, police officers and soldiers, who received state benefits after their death, on top of other allowances. It was estimated as many as 15,000 elderly people could have to return the money.

In a supplementary question, Mr Yutthaphong raised the issue of overpriced lottery tickets, pointing out that the prime minister earlier promised to seriously tackle the problem.

However, vendors were still selling lottery tickets at prices higher than the face-value 80 baht, he said.

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