# Redefining Life Beyond 60: Is Thai Society Prepared?

- Link: https://www.thailand-business-news.com/lifestyle/306580-redefining-life-beyond-60-is-thai-society-prepared
- Published: 2026-05-18T07:20:00+07:00
- Author: Thailand Development Research Institute

Is 60 truly the perfect endpoint of a working life? This question is becoming ever
more pressing as Thailand and the broader ASEAN region rapidly transition into a“
Super-Aged Society.” The economic and social structures that were once driven by
a young workforce are facing mounting pressure. This is not merely a fiscal crisis
or a social welfare burden — it is a pivotal moment that calls for a collective 
effort to revive the potential of an experience-rich human resource and restore 
it as a core engine of growth.

## Key Points

 * **The “Age Wall”:** Approximately 77% of formal-sector organizations in Thailand
   enforce a mandatory retirement age of 60, prematurely removing skilled and healthy
   individuals from the labor market.
 * **Worker Preferences:** Surveys indicate that a significant majority of workers
   aged 50–60 desire to remain employed beyond age 60, with a strong preference 
   for transitioning to part-time, “phased” work arrangements as they grow older.
 * **Employer Barriers:** Businesses express concerns regarding the physical capacity
   of older workers, a perceived lack of digital and AI proficiency, and the inadequacy
   of current tax incentives, which only apply to low-wage employment.
 * **Need for Policy Reform:** The report calls for a shift toward voluntary, mutually
   agreed-upon retirement arrangements that accommodate the specific needs of different
   industries.
 * **Proposed Solutions:**
    - Implementing a new legal framework to prevent age discrimination and provide
      targeted upskilling for workers aged 50–60.
    - Updating labor laws to support flexible, hourly employment models.
    - Enhancing tax incentives to encourage the hiring and retention of high-skilled
      older workers and offering income tax exemptions for employees over 60 who
      remain in the formal workforce.

These concerns are echoed in the preliminary findings of the study “**Promoting 
Happy Ageing in ASEAN: Enhancing Health, Security, and Social Participation,” a 
collaboration among the ASEAN** Centre for Active Ageing and Innovation (ACAI), 
the Health Intervention and Technology Assessment Program (HITAP), and the Thailand
Development Research Institute (TDRI). The study aims to present pathways for promoting
social participation and income security through employment, with the overarching
goal of advancing happy ageing.

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Among the proposed solutions for navigating an ageing society is a call for both
the public and private sectors to revisit the Mandatory Retirement Age (MRA) — moving
away from the fixed cut-off of 60 years toward a more flexible system — while championing
the employment innovation of “Phased Retirement” to retain skilled workers and ensure
income security for older workers.

### The “Age Wall”: A Barrier to Quality Ageing

A survey of 1,573 formal-sector workers in government agencies, state enterprises,
and private organizations aged 50–60 years across **Thailand found that the current
retirement structure remains largely “rigid age cutoffs.” Over 77% of organizations
enforce a mandatory retirement age fixed at exactly 60,** which has become a significant
barrier forcing workers who are still healthy, skilled, experienced, and willing
to work to exit the labor market prematurely.

Notably, 1 in 4 respondents expected to continue working after the mandatory retirement
age — particularly those in elementary occupations and technical trades — wishing
to work until around 62–63 years of age, driven by income necessity and a desire
to remain socially engaged.

### Workers Want a Gradual Retirement

The study paints an even clearer picture. Respondents do not wish to stop working
entirely upon reaching 60 years old. Instead, they prefer a “phased retirement” 
model. The survey found that at age 55, 99% of respondents still wished to work 
full-time, with an average expected working week of 39 hours.

**At age 60, 91.3% still wanted to continue working, though increasingly shifting
toward part-time arrangements, with an average expected working week of 30 hours.**
By age 65, over 73.9% still had a desire to work — predominantly part-time — with
an average expected working week of 18 hours.

### Employers Concerned About Digital Skills and Ineffective Incentives

From the employer’s perspective, most indicated a willingness to retain older workers
on a voluntary basis. However, employers raised concerns in three key areas:

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**Health and safety constraints: Employers are concerned about the mismatch between
job demands and the physical condition of older workers**, as well as the risk of
workplace accidents if older employees continue in the same roles without job redesign.
Without appropriate adaptation, this poses risks to both the individual worker and
overall business efficiency. 

**Digital skills and AI gap: Employers perceive older workers as struggling to adapt
to digital technology and AI systems **— which are no longer optional but essential
for business survival. This lag in adaptation is seen as a “productivity loss” unless
the government steps in to bridge the gap through intensive upskilling and reskilling
programs.

Cost trap and incentivising tax measures: The current double-deduction tax incentive
for employing older workers is capped at a monthly salary of only 15,000 baht. This
is a critical limitation in employers’ eyes. They think that the benefit cannot 
be fully utilised when hiring high-skilled older workers, who typically command 
salaries well above this ceiling. In effect, the measure incentivises only low-skill
employment.

### Policy Recommendations for Happy Ageing

To address the “rigid” mandatory retirement age (MRA) and structural barriers, the
document proposes the following:

 * **Shift from Mandatory to Voluntary Criteria:** Moving away from fixed retirement
   ages of 60 toward flexible, mutually agreed-upon arrangements between employers
   and employees based on the specific nature of the work.
 * **Development of a Legal Framework:** Establishing a dedicated legal framework
   for older worker employment that includes:
    - **Anti-age-discrimination protections.**
    - **Legislative revisions** to accommodate flexible working arrangements and
      hourly employment in the formal sector.
 * **Support for “Phased Retirement”:** Designing work arrangements that allow for
   a gradual reduction in working hours as employees age, while ensuring these workers
   maintain essential benefits and protections.
 * **Targeted Upskilling/Reskilling Programs:** Implementing government-led initiatives
   to close the digital and AI skill gaps for workers aged 50–60 to ensure they 
   remain productive and relevant in an evolving workplace.

Flexible retirement criteria: Shift from fixed mandatory retirement ages to voluntary,
mutually agreed arrangements between employers and employees based on the nature
of work, in order to reduce the loss of skilled and experienced personnel.

Flexible employment frameworks: Establish a dedicated legal framework for older 
worker employment, with anti-age-discrimination protections and targeted upskilling
support to close digital and AI skill gaps for workers aged 50–60.

Promote phased retirement: Encourage government authorities, employers and relevant
stakeholders to design working arrangements that allow hours to be gradually reduced
as workers age, while maintaining essential protections and benefits. Labor laws
should also be revised to accommodate flexible working arrangements and hourly employment
for older workers in the formal sector.

Improve tax measures for tangible results: Enhance tax benefits to make it genuinely
worthwhile for employers to adapt working environments and introduce incentives 
such as income tax exemptions for employees aged 60 and above who choose to continue
working in the formal economy.

Redesigning life after 60 is not just a matter of economic systems or social welfare
frameworks. It is a question of national human resource management. If we can break
down the rigid walls of outdated regulations and replace them with flexible policies
that recognize the diversity of older workers’ skills, experience, and capabilities,
we can transform older people from “benefit recipients” into “economic drivers” 
who are both secure and fulfilled.

The real question, then, is not whether 60-year-olds should stop working — but whether
Thai society is ready to let them keep going.

Kanyapak Ngaosri  is a researcher at the Thailand Development and Research Institute(
TDRI).Their policy analyses appear in the Bangkok Post on 6 May 2026. 

[Read More ](https://tdri.or.th/en/2026/05/redesigning-life-after-60/?rand=86529)