The government must think outside the box to find a solution to Thailand’s rapidly ageing society, lest it wants the nation’s senior citizens to be a burden for future generations, according to the CEO of Thonburi Wellbeing Co, Timothy Emen Lersmitivanta, today.

Speaking at the Bangkok Post Forum 2023 titled “Thailand: The Era of Change” at Centara Grand at CentralWorld, Mr Timothy conveyed his concerns over the government’s policies for the nation’s senior citizens, which he deemed “insufficient” to ensure a good quality of life.

As one of the world’s fastest-ageing societies, Thailand is on track to become the only developing nation in the world to be categorised as a “hyperaged society” alongside Japan, he noted.

Since 1970, he explained, the number of people joining the workforce year-on-year has continued to decline, which translates to decreased productivity.

This translates into higher wages for those in the work force — but the lack of production output also means higher inflation.

“The elderly must save more as they now live longer,” he told the audience at the forum.

Combined, the result means less tax revenue for the government, he said.

Mr Timothy took aim at the policies rolled out by previous administrations over the past 25 years, saying the policies were not designed to help aid recipients be more financially independent.

He cited as examples the One Tambon One Product (OTOP) scheme. It was real grassroot investment and teaching people to fish but every government since has not enhanced or improved it.

"Unlike other handouts, OTOP was not giving fish, it was actually teaching people to fish", Mr Timothy said.

“The government needs to change its mindset. For a policy to be effective, it cannot exclude the elderly from the decision-making process. They should also be upskilled, to enhance their capabilities and increase their productivity,” he said.

He went on to say that the government should encourage companies to hire senior citizens, increase the retirement age, roll out tax incentives and review its mandatory retirement policy.

It should also subsidise insurance coverage for the elderly, he said.

“We should know exactly where we are now. Without the right mindset, we will fail,” he said.

He said the Covid-19 pandemic should have taught the government to better prepare its elderly population for all eventualities.

However, Mr Timothy said, the evidence seems to be pointing the other way.

According to the CEO, 41% of Thais do not plan ahead for retirement. Furthermore, he said, about a third of Thais aged 60 and over are still in debt.

However, the Thonburi Wellbeing CEO said there is still time for the government to invest in programmes that could help the nation’s growing population of elderly citizens.

In that time, the government needs to look into expanding health insurance package for those aged 65 years and older, mortgage plans for the elderly, special business loans for companies employing senior citizens, creating job opportunities for retirees and facilitating training for career change.

He said that without effective public and private cooperation, Thailand’s elderly won’t be able to thrive.