Bangkok: The Government Savings Fund (GSF) is aggressively advancing its retirement savings lottery initiative while also investing abroad to enhance savings returns.

According to Thai News Agency, Ms. Jarulak Ruangsuwan, Secretary-General of the National Savings Fund (NSF), has emphasized the importance of promoting long-term savings for retirement, having reached 2.8 million members by 2026. She aims to increase NSF membership by an additional 150,000 members. Ms. Ruangsuwan stressed the need for Thai society to acknowledge the significance of long-term savings for old age and expressed her hopes for collaboration with both government and private sector organizations to boost savings. In the upcoming year, the NSF plans to invest around 300 million baht in stable, low-risk foreign securities, with a target average return of 3.5% over the next decade.

Following the enactment of the National Savings Fund Act by Parliament, the NSF is currently awaiting the issuance of additional ministerial regulations from the Ministry of Finance to facilitate the release of NSF lottery tickets. These tickets, priced at 50 baht each, will have draws every Friday, and unsuccessful entries will be saved for retirement. Purchasers can spend up to 3,000 baht per month on these tickets. A proposal has been submitted to the Ministry of Finance to allocate 600 million baht from the central budget to support the lottery system. A significant public relations campaign is being prepared to increase awareness of long-term savings through the NSF lottery, which will feature weekly draws. The initiative aims to leverage a network of private sector partners and the public to attract more NSF members.