Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand’s cabinet has approved a draft law establishing a "retirement lotto" aimed at helping people save money they spend on purchases of tickets, Deputy Finance Minister Paopoom Rojanasakul said on December 3.
He said the bill to set up a National Savings Fund (NSF) will now be vetted by the Council of State, the government's legal advisory body, before it is tabled for parliament deliberation.
Paopoom said that under the proposed scheme, no money spent on the lotto, even on purchases of losing tickets, will be lost. Every THB spent on the lotto will go to the purchasers' savings.
Tickets for the "retirement lotto" would be available to NSF members and self-employed individuals covered by Section 40 of the Social Security Fund.
These individuals would be able to purchase up to 3,000 THB (86 USD) worth of tickets each month. The tickets would cost 50 THB each. The winners would be announced every Friday at 5pm, with five one-million-THB prizes each week, along with a 1,000-THB payout for 10,000 other lucky ticket holders.
While winners would be allowed to claim the prizes immediately, they would only be allowed to claim back the money they spent on the tickets when they reach the age of 60. Before that, the money spent would be managed by the NSF.
Another policy objective is to increase the number of NSF subscribers from three million to around 16-17 million./.
