The Ministry of Labour plans to organise a formal public hearing on Feb 28 about its new regulation concerning a plan to lift the salary ceiling used in calculating the monthly contribution by salaried employees to the Social Security Fund (SSF).
Drafted under a proposal already approved by the board of the Social Security Office (SSO) around the middle of last year, the ministerial regulation previously won approval from more than 70% of salaried employees registered under the social security system in a preliminary survey, said the source.
When implemented, the regulation is expected to help improve the SSF's cash flow while registered employees will benefit from a higher rate of financial compensation, such as in the case of unemployment benefits being paid.
According to the source, the current ceiling for salaries used in calculating the monthly contribution is 15,000 baht, meaning that the highest monthly contribution is 750 baht for those who earn 15,000 baht or more.
Under the new rule, however, the new monthly contribution will, from next year until 2026, be raised to 875 baht for those who earn 17,500 baht a month or more. And from 2027 until 2029, it will be raised to 20,000 baht, meaning that employees who earn 20,000 baht per month or more will pay a monthly contribution of 1,000 baht. From 2030 onwards, those who earn 23,000 baht a month or more will pay 1,150 baht every month to the SSF, said the source.
The rises have been broken down into three periods to help ease the financial burden on employers as companies will also be required to pay a higher contribution to the SSF for their employees.
Last year there were 11.63 million salaried employees registered under Section 33 of the Social Security Act, said the source.