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Social Security Act B.E. 2533 (1990)
Social Security Act B.E. 2533 (1990)
The information is reviewed and updated monthly against official sources.
In short
Creates the social security fund from employer, worker and state dues: sickness, maternity, disability, pension, unemployment. Legally employed foreigners are usually auto-enrolled.
The Social Security Fund: Establishment and purpose of the Social Security Fund
The Act creates a Social Security Fund within the Social Security Office to pay benefits to insured persons. The Fund is built up from contributions paid by employers, employees and the State, together with investment returns, fines and other income. Money in the Fund is used only to provide the benefits set out in the Act and to cover the cost of administering the scheme.
Insured persons (Section 33): Who must be insured and how foreigners are covered
Employees in covered private-sector workplaces become insured persons automatically through their employer, who must register them with the Social Security Office. Coverage is generally tied to lawful employment rather than nationality, so a foreign national holding a Thai work permit and employed in Thailand is normally enrolled and entitled to the same benefits as a Thai employee. A person who leaves covered employment may continue voluntarily as an insured person under Section 39 if eligibility conditions are met, and the self-employed and informal workers may join voluntarily under Section 40 on different terms.
Contributions: Mandatory contributions by employer, employee and State
Both the employer and the employee must pay monthly contributions calculated as a percentage of the employee's wages (the standard rate for each side is 5 percent), and the Government contributes its own share. The employer deducts the employee's share from wages and remits both parts to the Social Security Office by the deadline; late payment attracts a surcharge. Contributions are calculated on wages between a statutory floor and a wage ceiling fixed by ministerial regulation, so very high salaries are capped for contribution purposes.
Sickness and maternity benefits: Sickness, medical treatment and maternity benefits
An insured person who has paid contributions for the required qualifying period is entitled to medical treatment for non-work-related illness or injury and to a cash allowance for loss of income during the period unable to work. Maternity benefits cover the costs of childbirth and provide a lump sum and a cash allowance for a limited number of confinements as set by regulation. These benefits depend on having contributed for a minimum number of months within a defined look-back period before the illness or the delivery.
Invalidity and death benefits: Invalidity benefit and death (funeral) benefit
An insured person who becomes an invalid from a non-work-related cause receives medical treatment and a monthly cash allowance, subject to the contribution conditions in the Act. If an insured person dies from a non-work-related cause, the Act provides a funeral grant (set by reference to the daily minimum wage) to the person who arranges the funeral, and a survivors' payment to dependants where the qualifying contribution period is met. Work-related injury or death is instead handled under the separate Workmen's Compensation scheme.
Child allowance and old-age pension: Child allowance and old-age (retirement) benefits
A child allowance is paid monthly for the insured person's own children up to a limited number of children at a time and up to a maximum age set by regulation, provided the qualifying contribution period is met. For old age, an insured person who has reached the statutory retirement age receives an old-age pension if contributions were paid for the long minimum period, or a lump-sum gratuity if the contribution period is shorter. The pension amount is calculated from average wages and the number of contribution years, with longer contribution histories producing higher monthly pensions.
Unemployment benefit: Unemployment benefit
An insured person under Section 33 who loses employment may claim an unemployment benefit if contributions were paid for the required number of months before becoming unemployed and the person registers as available for work with the State employment service. The benefit is a percentage of wages paid for a limited period, with a higher rate and longer duration generally available where the worker was dismissed rather than resigned voluntarily. This benefit is one of the seven categories under Section 33 and is not available to voluntary insured persons under Section 39.