Pre-conference workshop:
The Social Protection Floor Initiative
Thailand
Worawan Chandoevwit
Research Director (Social Security)
Thailand Development Research Institute
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
June 10, 2010
Social Protection in Thailand
• Coverage and financing
• Learning from Thailand’s experience
THAILAND
Coverage of Social Protection Schemes
Work Status
Sickness and
maternity
Death and survivor
Disability
Child allowance
Unemployment
Pension: Defined
benefit
Pension: Defined
contribution
Government
employee
Stateenterprise
employee
Private employee
in non-agr
Private school
teacher
Other workers
(selfemployed, agr
employee)
General tax
revenue
State
enterprise
revenue
WCF and SSF +
contribution
from government
PSTWF +
contribution
from
government
UC
No
No
not relevant
SSF
No
No
No
SSF
No
No
Provident
fund
Provident fund
PSTWF
No
not relevant
General tax
revenue
GPF +
contribution
from
government
Notes: GPF = Government Pension Fund, WCF = Workmen’s Compensation Fund, SSF = Social Security Fund,
PSTWF = Private School Teacher Welfare Fund UC = Universal Health-care Coverage
Contributory scheme
Non-contributory scheme
Non-Contributory Social Protection
Schemes
• Financed by general tax revenues.
• Government officials or civil servants receive medical
care, pension, child allowance, death and disability
benefits.
• State-enterprise employee receives the same types
of benefits as private employee, except they do not
receive pension.
• The non-contributory social protection scheme for
non-employees is the universal healthcare coverage,
started in 2001.
• Social Assistance for the needy.
Social Assistance
• Social assistance programs in Thailand were initiated in 1941.
• Target groups for social assistance are children, disadvantaged women,
seniors, disabled individuals, homeless and beggars, low-income persons,
ethnic minority, family in need, and people suffered from natural disaster.
• Social assistance programs focus on counseling, training, in-kind assistance,
and emergency accommodation.
• Cash benefits are provided to disabled individuals, poor elderly and children
whose parents are HIV infected receive cash assistance.
• The cash assistance programs are not universal. The decision for providing
benefits is decentralized to local government, which means that recipients
are based on selection by provincial administrator and Tambon
Administration Organization (TAO).
• Monetary assistance has been low since the Ministry of Social Development
and Human Security received a small budget compared to other ministries.
POOR MINISTRY TAKES CARE OF THE POOR AND UNDER PRIVILEDGE.
Contributory Social Protection Schemes
• Financed by stakeholders
• Social Security Fund and Workmen’s Compensation
Fund for private employee in non-agricultural sector.
• Private School Teacher Welfare Fund – for private
school teacher.
• Provident Fund – for state enterprise employee and
private employee.
• Government Pension Fund – defined contribution
Equity Issue: Healthcare coverage
2006
2007
2008
Civil Servant Medical Benefit Scheme (CSMBS): bil of Baht
37.00
46.48
54.90
No. of register persons under CSMBS: million
4.06
4.24
4.28
Social Security Scheme (SSS): bil of Baht
16.81
17.88
19.29
No. of employee under SSS: million
8.54
8.87
8.82
Universal Healthcare Coverage (UC): bil. of Baht
48.25
75.13
76.60
No. of people under UC: million
47.54
46.67
47.39
Efficiency Issue: CSMBS expenditure
mil. of Baht
50,000
45,000
40,000
35,000
30,000
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
-
1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009
outpatient
inpatient
Incentive to Work Issue: UI
Long Term Fund Stability Issue: SSF pension