Risks of early retirement for civil servants aged 40 have been highlighted by an academic who said the plan must be carefully executed to avoid losing skilled mid-level staff and incurring very high compensation costs. He recommended reviewing the government's role and deciding which tasks should continue. be reduced, or delegated to other agencies.
Regarding the case where Mr. Pakorn Nilprapunt, Deputy Prime Minister, is preparing to promote a voluntary early retirement program for civil servants aged 40 and above, along with reducing the number of positions in the civil service system to only what is necessary, aiming to lower recurring expenses and redirect budget towards investment and increased public assistance.
Mr. Pakorn explained that the age of 40 was chosen because it is a stage where people still have sufficient time and capacity to develop new skills (upskill-reskill) and adapt to new work methods. Waiting until age 50 or older might make career changes or skill learning more difficult. The program will begin with civil servants in positions where everyone has skills or uses technology, such as typists. If successful, it will expand to other agencies, with plans to implement it in the fiscal year 2027.
Currently,datafrom the Office of the Civil Service Commission (OCSC) shows that in 2024, Thailand has 414,088 civil servants with an average age of 42.14 years. Among them, 121,545 civil servants are aged 41-50, accounting for 29.35%.
In this context, Dr. Nanarith Pisalyabut, senior researcher at the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI), commented that the draft budget for 2027 shows an increase of only 0.2%, while inflation is at 1.5%, meaning the government’s real budget is shrinking. Investment budget accounts for only 20.8%, with a key limitation being personnel expenses, which make up as much as 40% and continue to rise. This has led to the early retirement program, lowering the minimum retirement age to 40.
Dr. Nanarith views that people in this group still have physical and mental potential to learn new things and work in other professions, which could enhance national capacity. However, the program also carries several risks that require careful consideration.
First, the problem may not only be the number of personnel but also the government’s workload, which remains substantial. Previously, the government tried to address this by reducing civil servant hiring and instead employing other forms of staff such as government employees, regular employees, and temporary staff to reduce compensation and benefits. At the same time, this indicates that the workload remains large enough to require these workers.
Therefore, if the number of civil servants is reduced without improving government work methods, the existing workload remains. The government may reduce some civil servants but ultimately still need to hire other types of workers to do the work.
In recent years, the government has begun using AI and automation technologies to reduce some support tasks such as data entry, document management, and inspection, which is a positive direction. However, it also needs to seriously review which tasks must continue and which should be reduced or transferred to the private sector or other entities. Tasks related to equality and protecting the public must remain government roles, but the management should be as efficient as possible. Another necessary action is ensuring sufficient numbers of quality personnel. "The goal should not be merely to make the government smaller but to create a government of appropriate size—not too large to waste resources, nor too small to fail in caring for citizens or ensuring social justice."
Second, the government must be cautious about losing skilled mid-level staff.
Because the early retirement program starting at age 40 allows some mid-level civil servants to leave. Typically, those who choose to leave mid-career are confident they can continue in other labor markets. Thus, those leaving may not be low-potential but rather capable and competitive individuals. The risk is that the civil service may become overly reliant on older personnel while the mid-level staff who bridge old experience and new ideas decrease, potentially slowing government adaptation even further.
Third, how much budget savings does early retirement actually yield?
From the civil servants’ perspective, participating must be worthwhile, with compensation high enough compared to salary, benefits, and job security they would have if they worked until normal retirement age. This means compensation must be sufficiently attractive to encourage many to join, which could ultimately mean the program saves less budget than expected.
Fourth, the government must have mechanisms to assist participants during the transition.
Because leaving work with a lump sum does not always lead to better life quality and may expose individuals to exploitation, fraud, or scams. Therefore, the government should provide systematic transition support such as career counseling, new skill training, financial planning, investment advice, and connections to labor markets or suitable business opportunities.
Dr. Nanarith concluded that
the early retirement program could be one tool to manage personnel budgets but should not be the main or sole solution. The government should use this opportunity to review its overall role: which tasks to continue, reduce, or transform. At the same time, it must carefully design the public workforce structure to avoid overdependence on older personnel and prevent loss of skilled mid-level staff, which could weaken the government's capacity to adapt.
Compensation must balance motivating participation with budget-saving goals, and importantly, support mechanisms for participants during the transition are essential.
"Managing Thailand’s civil servants should not start from the question of how to reduce staff but from the bigger question of what the Thai government should do, to what extent, and what kind of personnel are needed to work efficiently."