Chris Potranant, leading MPs from the Economic Party, announced progress on abolishing MPs' pensions. They revealed a list of 1,918 pension recipients and are urging the public to petition Parliament to disclose these names to the public.
At 11:30 a.m. on 29 April 2026, at the press conference room on the first floor of the Parliament building, Mr. Chris Potranant, Mr. Peeraphon Kanokwalai, and Ms. Angsana Niamwanichkul, MPs from the Economic Party, along with party members, held a press conference regarding the progress on efforts to abolish MPs' pensions.
Chris Potranant said that after debating on 2 April 2026 about the fund for former parliament members, which caused significant controversy and verbal clashes among MPs, he declared to the public that the three MPs from the Economic Party would absolutely refuse to receive MPs’ pensions. Since then, he informed the public that about 1,200 MPs or pension recipients were receiving pensions ranging from a minimum of 21,300 baht to a maximum of 42,700 baht monthly. They want to disclose exactly who these individuals are, so they submitted a letter to the Secretary-General of the House of Representatives to request the list to make it public. He emphasized that the fund receives about 400 million baht annually from taxpayers, and questioned why those who voluntarily enter politics should receive such benefits after leaving office.
Chris stated that after submitting the letter, they received a response today with a surprising figure showing 1,918 pension recipients, each receiving at least 21,300 baht per month, totaling about 490 million baht monthly paid by the state from this fund. Currently, only 200 senators and 500 MPs contribute 3,500 baht monthly to the fund, resulting in a definite shortfall. The rest of the money must be topped up by Parliament. Importantly, this is not only about MPs’ pensions but also senators’ and possibly National Legislative Assembly members’ pensions. They want the names to know which politicians are claiming these rights.
He acknowledged that the 250 senators appointed in 2019 were from the NCPO, not elected by the public. He invited interested citizens to visit the Economic Party’s page to sign a petition demanding Parliament disclose these names because it concerns taxpayers’ money. If unsuccessful, they will request Parliament to formally refuse disclosure. If that happens, they may seek the Administrative Court’s power under the Official Information Act. If they gather 10,000 signatures, they may propose legislation amendments and plan to campaign for parliamentary support.
Mr. Peeraphon Kanokwalai added that he urged the media to ask pension recipients to come forward because this is taxpayers’ money, and everyone should help follow up on this issue.