The government expects the retirement lottery project to attract an additional 13 billion baht in annual savings.
Deputy Finance Minister Paopoom Rojanasakul said the retirement lottery project, an initiative of the National Savings Fund (NSF) aimed at encouraging savings and supporting workers in retirement, offers prize money as an incentive, with the total prize money paid to winners averaging 760 million baht a year.
The government considers it a worthwhile investment because it has the potential to increase national savings by 13 billion baht annually through the sale of 5 million retirement lottery tickets a week, he said.
Individuals eligible to purchase a retirement lottery ticket must be at least 15 years old. Eligibility is not limited to NSF members -- informal workers, civil servants, and individuals in the social security system can also participate, expanding the project's scope beyond its original focus of informal workers not included in the pension system.
The project requires an amendment to the National Savings Fund Act. The draft amendment was approved by the cabinet and is being reviewed by the Office of the Council of State. The bill is expected to be submitted for parliamentary consideration later this month.
The retirement lottery leverages the Thai public's enthusiasm for lotteries as an incentive for savings, allowing individuals to withdraw all the money they spend on lottery tickets upon retirement, said Mr Paopoom.
Under the scheme, the NSF issues digital scratch-off lottery tickets priced at 50 baht each. All Thais aged 15 and older can participate, with a monthly purchase limit of 3,000 baht.
Tickets can be bought daily, with prize draws held every Friday at 5pm. Winners receive their prizes immediately via the PromptPay system. The entire amount spent on purchasing lottery tickets is recorded as savings, regardless of whether the individual wins a prize.
The prizes available every Friday comprise: a first prize of 1 million baht (five awards); 10,000 awards of 1,000 baht; and one special jackpot prize if available.
If any prizes from a draw are not claimed, the unclaimed prizes are rolled over for the special jackpot prize in the following week's draw.
All money spent on purchasing lottery tickets is recorded as savings for the buyer, deposited into the individual's NSF savings account. When the individual reaches age 60, all the money spent on lottery tickets plus investment returns is refunded.
Any Thai national age 60 or older can buy an NSF lottery ticket, but they must save for a period of at least five years from the date of their initial lottery ticket purchase.
There is no limit on the number of purchases an individual can make, but each round must be saved for a minimum of five years. For example, if an individual buys tickets at age 63, all the money spent is refunded the same month once he or she reaches 68. Another purchase at age 70 means the individual would receive the refund at age 75.