The Cabinet has approved reductions in monthly social security contributions for both employers and employees as part of a 70 billion baht package of measures to help mitigate the impact of rising fuel prices.
From May until July, monthly Social Security Fund (SSF) contributions for salaried employees (Section 33 of the Social Security Act) will be reduced from 5% to 1% and former employees (Section 39) who continue to contribute to the SSF after leaving their jobs will see their payments lowered from 9% to 1.9% over the same period.
Social security is a fund providing security and coverage to insured individuals.
Employers and employees are required by the Social Security Act to make contributions to the Social Security Fund every month.
The current contribution rate is 5% of the employee’s salary.
The minimum salary to be calculated is THB 1,650 and the maximum is THB 15,000; therefore, the minimum contribution is THB 83, and the maximum is THB 750. Even though an employee’s salary exceeds THB 15,000, the maximum contribution will be THB 750.
An insured person is entitled to receive the following benefits:
- Injury or sickness benefits, including health promotion and disease prevention
- Maternity benefits
- Disability benefits
- Death benefits
- Child benefits
- Old-age benefits
- Unemployment benefits, except for an insured person under section 39
Non-mainstream, “independent” workers engaged in small-scale trading, such as vendors and farmers, who are covered by Section 40, will see their monthly contributions reduced to between 42 and 180 baht.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha said a slew of additional measures has been approved to offset higher fuel prices exacerbated by the economic fallout of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. They include increasing cooking gas subsidies from 45 to 100 baht per month for 3.6 million holders of state welfare cards and providing a monthly 100-baht discount to 5,500 vendors and hawkers who hold state welfare cards.
Gasohol costs will be reduced by 250 baht per month for 157,000 working motorcycle drivers registered with the Department of Land Transport. The retail price of natural gas for vehicles will remain at 15.59 baht per kilogram, while metered taxi drivers participating in the Breathe Together project will pay 13.62 baht per kilogram.
The Prime Minister announced that those who consume less than 300 units of electricity per month will see their fuel tariffs reduced by 22 satangs between May and August, while the retail price of diesel will be capped at 30 baht per litre until the end of April.
Gen Prayut also announced urgent measures to help farmers ahead of the harvest season with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked to oversee imports of fertilisers and animal feed.
Government House spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said after the PM’s presser that the 10 measures require a 70-billion-baht budget likely to be discussed at the next cabinet meeting.
