Thailand plans 30,000 civil service exits over five years
Thailand’s proposed early retirement scheme would cap payouts at 15 times monthly salary, with Cabinet consideration planned for mid-November.
- Thailand is launching an early retirement scheme with the goal of reducing its civil service by 30,000 people over a five-year period.
- The program will initially target civil servants aged 50 and over, offering compensation capped at 15 times their monthly salary, calculated based on remaining years of service.
- To ensure a net reduction in the workforce, for every employee who takes early retirement, a different government post will be permanently abolished.
- Participants must agree not to return to any government agency, and the program is scheduled to begin before October 1, 2027.
Deputy Prime Minister Pakorn Nilprapunt outlined plans at Government House in Bangkok on October 30, 2026, for an early retirement scheme targeting 30,000 civil service departures over five years. Proposed compensation would be capped at 15 times monthly salary, with individual payments calculated according to remaining years of service.
Pakorn intends to submit the early retirement details to the Cabinet in mid-November and have the programme begin before October 1, 2027. Discussions with relevant agencies on October 29 had produced preliminary information, but he declined to disclose the full criteria to avoid confusion.
Early retirement payments would vary under 15-month cap
The early retirement compensation formula would resemble arrangements used in the past, Pakorn explained, although the maximum payment was expected to be higher. He did not specify the size of that increase.
“The maximum is 15 times,” Pakorn reiterated when pressed about early retirement compensation, ruling out a payment of 20 times monthly salary. The Office of the Civil Service Commission would explain the details once they were settled.
Pakorn cautioned civil servants against simply multiplying their monthly salary by 15 to estimate their entitlement. The formula would take remaining service into account, so participants would not all receive the same multiple.
Civil servants aged 50 and over would qualify initially
Civil servants aged 50 and over would be the initial target group under previously agreed criteria, according to Pakorn. If applications fell short of the quota, eligibility could be extended to people from age 40, subject to conditions such as leaving to care for relatives or themselves.
Early retirement participants would be asked to sign an agreement consenting to leave government service and not return to any agency, including the judiciary or prosecution service, Pakorn explained.
Pakorn described the intention behind the early retirement scheme as being to “part on good terms”, adding that the government could reclaim compensation from participants who subsequently returned to government service.
Civil service posts would be abolished to match departures
Pakorn cited an annual reduction target of 5% and an overall goal of 30,000 departures during the five-year programme.
For every person leaving under the early retirement scheme, another government post would be abolished, Pakorn explained. The post removed would be a different one from that held by the departing employee, with the aim of reducing the overall civil service workforce as much as possible.
Pakorn stressed that the objective went beyond reducing headcount. Improving efficiency was also essential, potentially through greater use of digital systems.
The early retirement programme would initially apply to civil servants. Military and police agencies already operate similar schemes, Pakorn noted.
