The Social Security Fund is a fund created under the Social Security Act and administered by the Social Security Officer, Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare.
All companies with at least one employee must subscribe to this fund in order to insure employees against costs incurred by: non-work-related injury, illness, invalidity, death, maternity, child support, retirement pension, or unemployment.
Thai or foreign subscribers will enjoy the same benefits under the scheme, except for certain types of employees who may not be eligible or may be exempted for membership. These include employees of state enterprises, agricultural, forestry and fishery employees, seasonal or temporary employees, employees of employer who sell items in streets stalls.

All employers withhold Social Security contributions from the monthly wages of each employee (between 15- 60 years old) as a part of the payroll process. The prescribed rate is currently 5% of the employee’s gross salary, capped at 15,000 Baht (even if the salary exceeds that amount).
A separate contribution of an amount equal to the employees’ contribution, is made by the employer. The maximum amount to be deducted is 750 Baht.
Both contributions must be remitted within the 15th day of the following month. Employers must pay a surcharge of 2% per month of the amount that is not paid by the due date.
The government pays a contribution of 2.75%, so the total contribution to the Fund will be 12.75 % per month.

Employers are required to register new employees with the Social Security Fund within 30 days from the start date they are employed. The process can normally be completed within 1 day if all required information and documents are submitted.
Failure to register or submitting a false registration is considered a criminal offence and the employer is subject to imprisonment for up to six months and/or a fine up to 20,000 Baht.

Employees registered with Social Security Fund may file claims for compensation within two years from the date of eligibility, in the following cases:

1. Non-work-related injury or illness
Medical services (examinations, treatments, hospital lodgings and meals, medicine and medical supplies, ambulance, and transportation) are free of charge at nominated government hospitals, except extra facilities required by the employee himself.
To compensate the loss of income, the employee who paid contributions for not less than 3 months within the last 15 months will receive upon physician’s certification a compensation. The payment is made at a rate of 50% of his salary for a maximum of 90 days for each period of sick leave, without exceeding 180 days of sick leave per year.
In case of chronic diseases, the insured person will receive compensation for a period of maximum 356 days. If the insured dies because of a chronic disease, his dependents or survivors will receive a grant for funeral expenses and a death allowance.

2. Dental treatment
The insured person is eligible to reimbursement for teeth extraction, teeth filling, dental plaque removal, and wisdom tooth removal costs up to 900 Baht per year.
The applicant is also entitled to reimbursement for acrylic-based overdenture from 1 to 5 teeth at a cost of maximum 1,300 Baht and overdenture for more than 5 teeth at a cost of maximum 1,500 Baht. In case of complete denture, the reimbursement can be made as actually incurred but not exceeding 4,400 Baht.

3. Maternity
Maternity benefits include partial or full cover of child delivery expenses such as costs of child bearing expenses, medicine and medical supplies, confinement expenses, lodging and meals, infant nursing and treatment expenses, ambulance and transportation, and other necessary expenses prescribed by the Fund’s Medical Committee.
The benefit is paid on a lump sum basis to the insured or her spouse at the rate of 13,000 Baht per childbirth for an unlimited number of children, if the insured person had contributed for at least 5 months within a period of 15 months before exercising the benefit.
To compensate the loss of income, the employee will receive a compensation for maternity leave at a rate of 50% of her salary for a maximum of 90 days. This compensation will be granted for maximum two child deliveries.

4. Non-work-related disability
To receive this benefit, an insured person may be able to work, but not as a normal person.
Medical services (examinations, treatments, medicine and medical supplies, in-patient, meals and treatments, ambulance and transportation, physical, mental and occupational rehabilitation) are free at governmental hospitals.
In case of private hospitals, the medical services are free of charge for outpatients up to the amount of 2,000 Baht per month and for inpatients up to the amount of 4,000 Baht.

The compensation for the loss of income is 30% of the daily wages for a period of maximum 180 months. If the disability is severe, the insured will receive an income replacement for the rest of his life at a rate of 50% of daily wages.
The only criteria for receiving the benefits is to have made contributions for not less than 3 months within a period of 15 months before the date the Medical Board declared the insured is a disabled person.

5. Death
Funeral expenses up to an amount of 40,000 Baht are covered by the Social Security Fund, if the insured made contributions for at least 1 month within 6 months before his death.
The family or any other person specified by the deceased employee will get a one-time payment amounting to 2 times the last monthly salary, if contributions have been made to the Social Security system for at least 36 months, or 6 times the last monthly salary, if contributions have been paid for 120 months or more.

6. Child support
Members are entitled to child assistance benefits for maximum of 3 children under 6 years of age to cover living expenses, tuition fees, medical, and where applicable other necessary expenses of their children. The benefit is paid on a lump sum basis at the rate of 600 Baht per month per child.
Not only the Thai national children are eligible for this benefit, but also the children of migrant workers who are working in Thailand legally and are properly registered with the Social Security Fund are also entitled to receive the same child care allowance.
In order to avail the child allowance, the insured person must have paid contributions for at least 12 months within the last 36 months before the month of eligibility.

7. Unemployment
The former employee who has paid contributions for more than 6 months in the 15 months prior to being unemployed gets 30% of his average salary for a maximum of 90 days if he resigned, and 50% of his average salary for up to 180 days in case of termination. However, the salary is capped at 15,000 Baht.
If over one year, there was more than one application for the unemployment benefit, the period receiving the benefit must not exceed 180 days in total.

In case the employer, due to a flood or an event of force majeure, temporarily suspends his operations, the employees can claim an unemployment allowance at a rate of 50% of their salaries for up to 180 days.

8. Old-age pension
An employee who has paid contributions for more than 180 months will receive retirement pay which is 20% of the average monthly salary (capped at 15,000 Baht) for the last 60 months plus 1.5% of the average monthly salary multiplied by the number of years he has paid contributions for over 180 months.
If he paid contributions for more than 12 months and is 55 years of age or become disabled, he will get a one-time payment amounting to the sum of the contributions he made to the Social Security system plus interest fixed each year.
If the employee dies before receiving any retirement pay, his family will receive the sum of the contributions made by him and his employer to the Social Security system. If he has already received retirement pay for less than 60 months, his family will get a one-time payment amounting to 10 retirement payments.

A foreigner, residing or not in Thailand, will receive a lump sum payment for his pension amounts accrued when his status as an insured person is terminated and he wishes to leave Thailand, no matter how many months he made contributions to the Social Security Fund.