A Thammasat University academic has proposed that political parties initiate changes to the social security system by amending the law to change the Social Security Office’s (SSO) status into a state-supervised agency, increasing its autonomy and flexibility. The reform is expected to be completed within two years. The proposal includes adopting the National Health Security Office (NHSO) model to manage healthcare rights and employing professionals to manage investments, similar to the Government Pension Fund (GPF). The tags are [social security, political reform, investment management, Thailand, Thammasat University]
Assistant Professor Dr. Thorn Peetidorn, a faculty member of the Faculty of Economics at Thammasat University, stated that one way to upgrade and enhance the efficiency of the social security system—including transparency, management efficiency, and investment performance—is to amend the Social Security Act B.E. 2533 (1990). This would change the Social Security Office’s status from a government agency under the Ministry of Labour to a state-supervised agency instead. This process is expected to be completed within two years, making the SSO a legal entity with greater independence, transparency, and agility, while retaining existing state regulatory mechanisms rather than privatizing its management. The tags are [social security law, Thammasat University, government reform, Ministry of Labour, transparency]
“Political parties must lead this change. It requires political party momentum to succeed. Therefore, I urge all parties to treat social security reform as a key policy. Without political leadership, these changes will be difficult to achieve,” said Assistant Professor Dr. Thorn. The tags are [political parties, social security reform, leadership, policy advocacy]
Regarding transforming the SSO into a state-supervised agency, Dr. Thorn noted that there is no need to study foreign models but rather to look at similar existing agencies such as the National Health Security Office (NHSO) or the Government Pension Fund (GPF). This approach can help close loopholes previously found in those agencies. Once the SSO becomes a more autonomous state-supervised agency, it can gradually adjust its management roles, clearly separating responsibilities and employing professionals to oversee healthcare benefits, retirement pensions, and investments. The tags are [agency reform, NHSO, GPF, professional management, social security]
Dr. Thorn further explained that healthcare benefits for insured persons could be managed using a system similar to the NHSO, but with efforts to provide some superior healthcare rights for social security members. Investment management and retirement pension systems could follow the GPF model to achieve profitable and appropriate returns. The social security fund is very large, with accumulated investments totaling 2.9 trillion baht, but past investment returns have been lower than expected. The tags are [healthcare benefits, investment management, GPF model, social security fund, financial returns]
Additionally, professionals should be involved in increasing the enrollment of informal workers into the social security system by designing new benefits. Otherwise, as informal workers age, the state will bear a significant financial burden providing old-age allowances, which may be insufficient for living costs. Increasing these allowances would cost the state more than strengthening the social security pension system. The tags are [informal workers, social security inclusion, old-age allowances, state budget, benefit design]
Dr. Thorn also said that the main management structure, such as the Social Security Board, should retain the current system of electing board members from insured persons to represent their voices on the board and subcommittees. If diversity of board members is a concern, it could be addressed by increasing the number of representatives from both insured persons and employers. The tags are [social security board, governance, representation, elections, stakeholder diversity]
The biggest challenge when the SSO becomes a state-supervised agency is managing staff who were formerly civil servants but will transition to other forms of employment. It is necessary to create incentives and welfare benefits at least equal to civil service to motivate them. Furthermore, the relationship between the SSO and the Ministry of Labour may face issues over power loss and overlapping roles, similar to when the NHSO separated from the Ministry of Public Health. Political momentum will be crucial to drive this transition. The tags are [personnel management, civil service transition, institutional relations, Ministry of Labour, political support]