It has become a hot topic closely watched by workers nationwide as the largest lifetime savings pool, the Social Security Fund, faces questions over its management efficiency amid rumors of a major restructuring.
Today (27 Jan 2026), the Social Security Board held a significant meeting to approve a new investment policy plan, “SAA Phase 2” (2027-2031), which aims to revolutionize the portfolio by raising the risk asset ceiling to 50%, matching stable assets (50:50), in an effort to avoid returns that might fall short of future obligations.
Meanwhile, in politics, Trinuch Thienthong, Minister of Labour, has ordered an urgent overhaul of the social security system, promoting a model of “independence” akin to the Government Pension Fund (GPF) to establish a sustainable system for all insured persons under every category.
Official data from the Social Security Office (as of 31 Dec 2025) presents the following overview:
Looking back to 2016, the fund’s size has grown dramatically; in fact, over 10 years, the fund’s assets have almost doubled.
Recognized profits (returns) fluctuate with market cycles. Each year, the fund generates income mainly from two sources: interest/profit from debt instruments and dividends/profit from equity instruments.
Overall, the top-performing year was 2019 with profits exceeding 85,633 million baht, while weaker years such as 2018 and 2023 saw profits drop to around 55.5 to 58.0 billion baht.
In the most recent year, 2025, total returns exceeded 80 billion baht, according to the latest disclosure by the Social Security Office.
A key question in the fund’s restructuring is how accurately the reported investment returns reflect the reality of the 2.8 trillion baht portfolio.
Recently, Panthira Vergara, Deputy Subcommittee Member for Non-Market Asset Investment Advisory for the Social Security Fund, indicated that the issue lies not in the quality of returns but in Thailand’s reporting system, which still relies on statutory reporting recognizing only realized gains or losses from asset sales, without reflecting the economic value of the entire portfolio, making it impossible to truly assess the fund’s health.
In the case of the reported 80 billion baht profit and 6.31% return in 2025, if calculated on the 2.8 trillion baht asset base, the economic return should be around 176 billion baht. This suggests that the “reported return” figure might be missing nearly 100 billion baht—not because money is lost but due to accounting methods that are not international standards, causing the figures to reflect sales timing rather than actual portfolio management performance.
Panthira stated that a large fund like the Social Security Fund should adopt mark-to-market reporting, similar to leading global funds, to reveal full portfolio value, risks, and volatility—especially as allocations to non-market assets increase. Without clear valuation systems, the true risks of the portfolio may unknowingly be obscured.
Dr. Pipat Luangnarumitchai, Chief Economist at Kiatnakin Phatra Financial Group (KKP), offered policy insights, noting that based on risk ceilings, the Thai Social Security Fund yields an average return of 3.5%, while the global average ranges from 7-9%, constrained by limits on risk exposure.
This may be due to an overreliance on Thai stocks for too long, despite greater growth opportunities from foreign equities. Another critical issue is governance in investment decisions—such as why investments are made in certain real estate projects that raise public concerns, and why the fund does not engage top professionals to manage assets more effectively.
“Perhaps it’s time to stop focusing solely on profit figures and instead emphasize asset allocation policies, returns per asset class, and the professionalism and governance of fund managers to ensure our collective money grows with the dignity expected of a national-level fund.”
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