An extension to the retirement age, or keeping people at work longer, would definitely mitigate the impacts of an ageing society.
Letting people work longer and retire later sustains the supply of labour and gives older people a longer stream of income. Studies indicate working elderly are more healthy and active.
In addition, if an extension is endorsed for the public sector, a similar add-on can be expected in the private sector.
In most ageing societies around the world, extending the retirement age is imperative since the issue involves the sustainability of social security spending. Apart from that, the rate of ageing in Thailand is growing rapidly. As mentioned, in about 10 years from now, one-fifth of Thais will be elderly.
As a result, the fiscal burden on the government of taking care of older people in the area of health care and financial support will be enormous.
In fact, many officials aged 60 years and older have years of working experience and know-how. Most remain healthy and active. If years of experience can be counted in terms of money, keeping these older older officials (extending their retirement age) can be worth millions of baht.
At present, some government agencies such as the Ministry of Justice, the Office of the Attorney-General, and some universities, have adopted age extensions for their officials.