CARE: a new pension formula based on wages across your working life

No. CARE does not transfer pension rights or pension amounts from Section 33 members to Section 39 members. The same point rule applies to every month of contributory wages, while past wages are revalued using Section 33 wage statistics. Many Section 39 cases improve because the old formula can allow the THB 4,800 wage base in the final years to pull down the 60-month average. Outcomes for each Section 33 member still depend on that person’s complete wage and contribution history.

A member must have reached age 55 and ceased to be an insured person. Entitlement begins in the month following the month in which both conditions have been met. A member with at least 180 months of old-age contributions receives a monthly pension; a member with fewer than 180 months receives an old-age lump sum.

For 12–179 contribution months, the calculation is unchanged: old-age contributions from both the member and employer plus accumulated returns. The improvement applies to 1–11 months. Previously only the member-side contribution was paid; the revised formula also includes the employer-side contribution and returns. In normal months the combined old-age allocation is 6% of contributory wages, or 6% of the THB 4,800 base for Section 39. Months with a temporary contribution-rate reduction use the amount actually allocated, plus any additional rate officially prescribed for calculating the lump-sum benefit in that period.

No. A pension is calculated from the contributory wage base and the number of contribution months, not from the actual amount of contributions paid. If a contribution rate is temporarily reduced while the wage base and contribution months remain recorded as usual, the pension is not reduced because of that rate reduction.

You may ask the Social Security Office to investigate. Missing information may result from an employer reporting incomplete wages or from another cause. The SSO will follow its fact-finding process and may request supporting documents or evidence so that the record can be corrected and the insured person receives the full benefit supported by the facts.

The exact effective date is not yet known. It depends on the legal process and on completing the database and IT improvements needed to calculate every member’s pension accurately. For explanation and projection purposes, this website assumes that CARE takes effect in September 2027. This is a website assumption, not an officially announced implementation date.

The Social Security Office’s actuarial team developed the detailed calculation, adapting CARE principles used in several countries, particularly OECD members. The proposal was considered by the ad hoc subcommittee appointed by the Social Security Board, refined in response to stakeholders, approved by the Social Security Board, and endorsed by the Cabinet on 14 July 2026.

Countries use different names and parameters, but several systems consider earnings across many years or a full career and revalue earlier earnings. Examples include Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, Japan and Korea. Pension-point systems are used in Germany, Estonia, Lithuania and the Slovak Republic, as well as France’s mandatory supplementary pension. These are not identical to Thailand’s proposed formula, but they share the principle of valuing contribution records across time rather than only final earnings.

Each month’s point is calculated by dividing the member’s contributory wage by the Reference Earnings (RE) assigned to that month. RE uses the average wage statistic for contributing Section 33 members from two months earlier to reduce the effect of delayed reporting. A point of 1.00 means the member’s wage equals that month’s RE. Points from every contributory month are averaged, then multiplied at entitlement by average RE over the preceding 60 months to convert them back into a pensionable wage. This revalues earlier contributory wages to a wage level near the entitlement date.

Normally, each month’s RE uses the average Section 33 wage statistic from two months earlier. December 1998 was the first old-age contribution month and had two contribution records in the same month, so a contributing member uses a THB 1,650 wage and THB 1,650 RE, producing exactly 1 point. Using that exceptional December value directly for February 1999 would distort the result, so February uses the average of January and March 1999 RE instead.

Yes. RE values through July 2026 were calculated and checked using Social Security Office system data and may be used as a reference for estimates on this website. The formally prescribed RE values are expected to be consistent with or close to the values shown here. When CARE takes effect, the SSO will rerun and verify the calculation under the prescribed rules, and the formally published values will govern.

Over the long term, total pension expenditure under CARE is expected to be close to the level under the old formula, but this does not mean expenditure is identical in every year. Costs rise during transition because accrued rights are protected. The Fund’s position also depends on other factors, and the Social Security Board has appointed a subcommittee to develop a long-term Funding Strategy.

If you already receive a pension before CARE takes effect, a CARE amount will be calculated and compared with your existing pension. If CARE is higher, future pension instalments will be increased under the applicable rules, without retrospective adjustment. If CARE is not higher, your existing pension continues without reduction.