New social welfare measures in Thailand: improvements for children, the elderly and people with disabilities
The Thai cabinet has approved new social welfare measures proposed by the National Commission for the Promotion of Social Welfare. These reforms aim to create a fairer and more accessible system for child benefits, old age benefits and disability benefits, with the aim of being more inclusive and better supporting vulnerable groups.
Extension of child benefit
Child benefit will become universal, meaning that income screening will no longer apply. This will make more families eligible for financial support. Coverage begins from the fourth month of pregnancy and continues until the child is six years old. Parents will receive a monthly allowance of 600 baht per child during this period. This expansion emphasizes the importance of early support for families and young children, which can have a positive impact on child development.
Old age benefit based on age
The elderly allowance will be adjusted with a gradually increasing payment based on the recipient’s age. Seniors between 60 and 69 will receive a monthly allowance of 700 baht. For seniors aged 70 to 79, this amount will increase to 800 baht, while those aged 80 to 89 will receive 1.000 baht. For those over 90, the monthly allowance will be 1.250 baht. This measure recognizes the increasing needs of seniors as they age and provides them with better financial support.
Equal opportunities for people with disabilities
A fixed monthly allowance of 1.000 baht will be introduced for persons with disabilities. This measure provides support to all, including those without official identification documents, significantly expanding the scope of benefits. This policy underscores the Thai government’s commitment to creating equal opportunities for all, regardless of their administrative status.
Steps towards implementation
Minister of Social Development and Human Security Varawut Silpa-archa outlined the plan for implementing these measures. The first step is to collect data on beneficiaries and determine the funding needed. This will be followed by working with the Budget Office, the Comptroller General’s Office and the Ministry of Finance to secure funding. In addition, guidelines will be developed to streamline the disbursement of funds and ensure that benefits are efficiently delivered to those who are entitled to them.
Expected start in 2026
Implementation of these measures is scheduled for the beginning of fiscal year 2026, provided there are no unforeseen delays. The reforms reflect the Thai government’s commitment to creating a universal welfare system and treating benefits as a fundamental right for all eligible groups.
These reforms represent an important step towards more inclusive and supportive social welfare policies, which can significantly improve the quality of life of children, the elderly and people with disabilities.
Unlike the rest of the world, the tide has turned here and after years of stagnation during the junta, some help is slowly coming to the weaker members of society.
I can almost predict the reactions to this, it's a drop in the ocean and who's going to pay for it?, but it's a start and every little bit helps.
“a more inclusive and supportive social welfare policy”. Those are big words.
It is a step in the right direction, but for a real social welfare policy, something extra needs to be done, I personally think.
Do you see those old people in a village, lined faces, poorly educated, struggling all their lives, no company pension. Although often no wage or income tax paid.
Fortunately, often own house and piece of land for vegetables, fruit, chickens. And accessible health care.
And then start with 600 THB "AOW". Hopefully there are children who contribute. Because if those children themselves have school-going children, for example, life is expensive for them too and there is little left.
Little job starts at 12.000-20.000 THB/month. Learned a little to a lot, then up to 30.000-50.000-80.000/month.
You shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, but then 600 THB (=17 EUR) "AOW" is not really an amount to write home about. What do you buy for that these days? In Thailand too, life has become more expensive.
Real wealth (money), an important part of creating real well-being, lies with a very small, very select group, who do not like to give up their own privileged position, despite the pressure from the socially “lower” regions.
There is still a lot to do in Thailand (I say this from my Dutch background, but yes: TIT, This Is Thailand).
My wife will also receive a 100 baht pension increase, so soon it will be 700.
She can kick in a real door.
Janneman.
My wife once applied for it as an old-age benefit to increase the contribution to her mother.
Announcement from the relevant official then, it has been a few years now. You are married to a foreigner, that does not apply. NEXT.
A comment like this makes no sense. Thailand does not do nothing, and as we know from the NL or BE situation, a system like AOW is an extremely expensive one. NL benefits increased by 2021 billion euros in 1,7, while premiums paid increased by 0,9 billion. The difference is supplemented by tax revenues. In NL we are talking about less than 3 million people aged 65 to 80, and less than a million people aged 80 and over. All in all, something like 20% of the total population. (source: CVS)
In TH we are talking about more than 16 million people over 60 years old. In number and percentage four times that of NL. And significantly less tax revenue. In any case not from the pensioners living in TH. We have already had the discussion that their own environment is doing well.
Regardless, Thailand has made significant progress in recognizing the challenge of aging and has initiated policy changes and development programs to address it at both the national and local levels. The country is now working to expand access to long-term care at the community level as part of its existing volunteer-supported primary health care system. (source: World Bank)
It's a good thing we support both my mother-in-law and my grandmother, because if you have to do it on this basis, you're going hungry
Thailand's care for the elderly has traditionally been based on family support. Being married to a Thai woman also means that you are morally part of that support. In addition, the Thai government (under Thaksin at the time) has started a number of care programs. A number of these can be read in the article in question. If you compare TH with the NL/BE/EU situation, then TH is not nearly that far. If you compare TH with situations as they apply in developing countries, then TH is well on its way. Care for the elderly is a very expensive affair. Why do you think that in the Netherlands there is such a fuss when it comes to issues such as AOW, pension, deductible, personal contributions? In TH there is no one who is assessed by the tax authorities to keep a national health care system going. NL pensioners in TH no longer contribute to the NL situation anyway, and pay 0,0 to the TH situation.
The bottom line: Most older Thais age in their own homes and are cared for by their families, but traditional family care arrangements are becoming increasingly difficult for many families as the ratio of older to working Thais increases. Over the next two decades, the number of Thais over 80(!) requiring care is expected to increase more than sixfold, to almost 2,5 million(!). The number of people over 60 is already 16 million.
Most people in need of elderly care still rely on family and community care, as the cost of institutional long-term care is high and most Thais cannot afford it without government support.
Thailand's Universal Coverage Scheme (Thaksin's 30 baht system from 2002) currently does not cover any institutional long-term care due to high costs. Institutional care services remain underinsured, even for older people with high needs (i.e., older people with dementia, bedridden older people), and programs to help families with these costs have limited coverage.
There is a shortage of well-trained employees in elderly care and there is a lack of appropriate training for informal caregivers and employees in elderly care.
The growing demand for senior care services presents opportunities for business investment and job creation. There is an opportunity to fill the gaps in the supply of affordable and adequate care (in the home, in communities and in institutions) for seniors with long-term care needs. The development of luxury retirement housing options for the more affluent seniors can be seen as creating more jobs in the sector.
What could TH do: 1) Strengthen the role of government as a steward of elderly care. At least a start has been made. This includes improving the capacity for needs assessment (at the service level) and also for forecasting care needs (at the policy level) and developing an information system with reliable data. 2) Ensure a fiscally sustainable system for financing long-term care, based on this needs assessment. Thailand could move to a more formalized model of financing long-term care by, for example, expanding the 30-baht system (UHS) to include targeted subsidies for long-term care for those deemed most in need. 3) Encourage the development of initiatives that respond to the growing demand for long-term care services in the private market. 4) Strengthen the community support system. 5) Invest in better training for care workers and use migrant workers for jobs where the local supply of labour is limited. 6) Continue to increase the amounts of the elderly allowance. (source: United Nations-ESCAP)