Most candidates competing for seats on the new Social Security Board have highlighted the importance of raising the pension rate for retirees in the social security system as well as improving transparency and efficiency in managing the Social Security Fund (SSF).
Scheduled to take place on Dec 24, 14 new board members will be elected by the more than 800,000 people who are workers in the social security system, eligible to vote in this election, and have already registered to do so.
Of the 14 board members, seven are in the quota of employers' representatives and the others represent employees. Over 240 people have registered to compete in this election, 61 from the employer side.
These candidates were invited to a recent seminar jointly organised by the Puey Ungphakorn School of Development Studies and the Thai Labour Museum Foundation to showcase their vision regarding what they aim to do if elected.
Many candidates agreed the pension should be raised from 3,000 baht a month to at least 4,500 baht.
The former is currently the maximum monthly rate. It is calculated from 20% of the recipient's last monthly salary of 15,000 baht before retirement. The law stipulates that 15,000 baht is the ceiling from which to conduct the 20% calculation.
However, the candidates argued that 3,000 baht is nowhere near enough to keep up with the runaway cost of living. Many retirees say it is insufficient to live on without finding more sources of income with which to survive.
Chinnachot Saengsang, a candidate from the Council of Thai Labour, said the monthly pension should be raised to at least 4,500 baht or 30% of the last salary received of 15,000 baht.
If possible, the 15,000-baht ceiling should be raised to 18,000 baht, he said.
Piyarach Samata, a candidate representing a labour group called Social Security for Thai Workers, echoed Mr Chinnachot's views, saying the monthly pension should also be adjusted every three to five years to keep up with inflation.
On top of that, transparency and efficiency in managing the SSF also needs to be improved considerably to ensure the fund has sufficient money in its coffers to finance future expansions of social security benefits, he said.