Two Formulas. One Question: Which income period do you use?
Both formulas answer the same question: which earnings figure should form the basis for calculating a worker's pension? They arrive at radically different answers.
Average of the last 60 months (5 years) before retirement
over final 60 contribution months
Pension = Base × 20%
+ (years − 15) × 1.5%
Average across the entire contribution career
(Section 33 salary + Section 39 cap)
Problem: Section 39 ceiling = ฿4,800
→ dilutes decades of higher earnings
A Real Example: 27 Years of Contributions
Case Study: Former Private-Sector Employee — Section 33 → Section 39 Transition
Simulated figures based on actual contribution structure
Over 20 years of retirement: ฿317,000 (~$9,000 USD) erased by one formula choice
Among the 1,271+ members of this movement, 551 receive pensions below Thailand's poverty line of ฿3,700/month. Here are documented real-world figures:
| Contribution History | Province | Pension (CARE) | Poverty Line |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sec.33 (23 yrs) + Sec.39 (8 yrs) | Ayutthaya | ฿1,248 ($35) | −66% |
| Sec.33 (23 yrs) + Sec.39 (10 yrs) | Bangkok | ฿1,032 ($29) | −72% |
| 316 combined payments | Bangkok | ฿1,952 ($55) | −47% |
| World Bank Poverty Line (2022) | — | ฿3,700 ($105) | Baseline |
What the Supreme Court Already Said
This is not merely an advocacy position. Thailand's Supreme Court addressed precisely this issue in Ruling No. 3307 of Buddhist Era 2567 (2024 CE).
Workers who contributed under Section 33 have the right to have their pension calculated on the basis of their actual salary during that period. Using the Section 39 ceiling of ฿4,800 to dilute or reduce the entitlements accumulated under Section 33 constitutes an unlawful reduction of benefits — incompatible with the intent of the Social Security Act.
This is not a demand for new rights. It is an assertion of existing ones, confirmed at the highest judicial level.
The Three Demands: A Specific Policy Platform
The movement does not simply oppose CARE. It has a concrete three-part legislative agenda known as the "Three Asks" (กฎหมาย 3 ขอ):
A minimum pension of ฿10,000 per month (~$282 USD) for anyone who has contributed for 15 years or more. This is not a demand for generosity — it is a demand for actuarial honesty: calculating pensions on what was actually contributed, not on a depressed average.
Why This Matters for the 2026 SSO Board Election
The Social Security Board has direct authority to propose and endorse the pension calculation formula. A board that endorses CARE locks in the scenario shown in the case study above for every future retiree. A board that endorses FAE-60 restores the actuarial promise that workers made their contributions against.
The 2026 SSO Board election — expected in late 2026 — is therefore not an administrative formality. It is the single most direct democratic mechanism available to Thailand's 25 million enrolled workers to determine which formula governs their retirement.
Part 3 of this series covers the platform and candidacy of Dr. Boon Arayapon — the veterinarian-turned-lawyer who has spent six years building the legal and evidentiary case behind these demands, and is now running for a seat on the SSO Board.
Read Part 3 →