Reducing Elderly Poverty in Thailand : The Role of Thailand's Pension and Social Assistance Programs
This policy note examines Thailand's programs for preventing poverty among the elderly, and suggests options for improving the effectiveness of these programs. The number of elderly people in Thailand will increase dramatically over the next...
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Format: | Report |
Language: | English en_US |
Published: |
Washington, DC
2017
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Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/949741468120871479/Reducing-elderly-poverty-in-Thailand-the-role-of-Thailands-pension-and-social-assistance-programs http://hdl.handle.net/10986/26767 |
Summary: | This policy note examines
Thailand's programs for preventing poverty among the
elderly, and suggests options for improving the
effectiveness of these programs. The number of elderly
people in Thailand will increase dramatically over the next
30 years, and the elderly already have a higher poverty rate
than the population as a whole. Although Thailand currently
has a total of eight pension programs, the majority of the
benefits go to those who are not poor. In addition, unlike
most countries, Thailand lacks a pension and provident fund
supervision agency or a consolidated financial institution
regulator, and does not appear to have a well-articulated
national pension policy. This has led to the development of
two major sets of pension programs, with one group sponsored
by the ministry of labor and the social security office, and
the other by the ministry of finance and the securities
commission. These are also supplemented by an assortment of
social assistance and community programs sponsored by the
ministry of social development and human security and the
ministry of interior. This policy note will examine the
above issues in more detail and recommend policy options to
simplify and coordinate the various pension and social
assistance programs aimed at preventing poverty among the
elderly, target more spending at the elderly poor, and
assure long-term fiscal sustainability. |
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