Thailand’s Labour Minister, Trinuch Thienthong, has approved an urgent reform of the Social Security Office (SSO), aiming to modernise its management and improve services for insured workers.

She said the SSO, established 31 years ago, needs a major overhaul to keep pace with social and economic changes. The ministry has assigned the Permanent Secretary to hire a leading university to study feasibility and propose reforms to the system and management structure.

The reform will focus on professional management, particularly experts in finance and public funds, and on better understanding the real needs of insured members. Trinuch said key challenges lie in outdated systems and governance structures that limit flexibility and service quality.

She also proposed making the SSO more independent from the traditional bureaucracy, possibly adopting models similar to the Government Pension Fund or a financial institution with greater operational flexibility. This would benefit more than 24 million insured people and over 500,000 employers.

Trinuch stressed that the ultimate goal is to build a fair and sustainable benefits system for all members. Future investment decisions will be based on accurate data, comprehensive impact analysis, and strict governance standards. She emphasised that every baht in the fund belongs to contributors, and the ministry’s mission is to transform the SSO into a professional organisation that provides long-term security and improves quality of life for workers and the public.