40% discount on SSF for casual workers

40% discount on SSF for casual workers

The cabinet yesterday agreed in principle to offer workers in the informal economy a 40% discount on their monthly contributions to the Social Security Fund (SSF) for six months.

The measure is designed for those workers facing financial hardship during the Covid-19 pandemic and to boost their spending on consumer products, said government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri.

About 3.5 million workers in the informal economy are covered under the social security system under Section 40 of the Social Security Act.

They pay from 70-300 baht per month to the SSF, so their new contributions will drop to 42-180 baht.

As part of the same deal, the government's contributions into the SSF on behalf of those workers will likewise fall from 30-150 baht to 21-90 baht.

The government's monthly income during this period will decline by 567 million baht -- it will receive only 850.5 million baht instead of the usual 1.4 billion baht, said Mr Anucha.

However, the spokesman said that the fall would not affect the SSF's pension payment programme because the Social Security Office will continue to pay its usual monthly contributions.

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