Thailand highlights five strategies to adapt aged society

Thailand’s Finance Ministry has highlighted five strategies to promote saving habits among Thais, which will help prepare the population to enter retirement with more stable finances, a move deemed necessary as the country is becoming an aged society.

Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira said that creating saving habits among young people is essential, especially for new graduates who are just entering the job market.

Besides educating Thais of the importance of personal savings and investments, the ministry has developed innovations to ensure financial stability for Thai people.

An innovation is National Saving Fund (NSF) - a voluntary saving mechanism for working people outside the government’s pension system.

The fund accepts savings starting from THB50 ($1.48) per month and capped at THB 30,000 per year from Thais aged 15-60 years.

The government would make a monthly contribution of up to THB 1,800 per year for each account, while the savings are also tax deductible.

After the saver reaches 60 years of age, they will be paid up to THB12,000 a month.

The second innovation is a new savings product called Retirement Lottery that the ministry plans to launch soon. Buyers can purchase lottery tickets via an app at the price of THB50 per ticket, with a maximum purchase of THB3,000 per month. The lottery will be drawn weekly with five first prizes, worth THB1 million each, and 10,000 second prizes worth THB10,000 each.

Every baht spent on the lottery can be withdrawn after buyers turn 60. They will also get a share of the profits earned from the investment of their contributions.

Another innovation is the Thai ESG Fund which promotes savings as well as businesses that focus on environmental, social, and governance policies. Investors will benefit from up to 30% tax deduction for income not over 300,000 per annum, provided that they have held the unit trust for more than five years.

Meanwhile, Vayupak Fund 1 features investments in state-owned securities. Sales will be open from September 16-20 at a starting price of THB10,000 (THB10 per unit, minimum 1,000 units). Investors will receive a dividend based on actual profits, with a 3% minimum rate of return guaranteed, but will not exceed 9%.

In addition, Individual Retirement Account (IRA) provides a variety of investment options including deposits, securities and bonds, as well as tax benefits for investors.

The ministry said the advantage of IRA over the Social Security Fund is that the savings and investments will be tailored for each individual instead of pooling the money for big, less varied investments.