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World Bank Lauds Thailand's "Retirement Lottery" as Clever Savings Initiative

World Bank Lauds Thailand's "Retirement Lottery" as Clever Savings Initiative

Provided by Nation.

Innovative scheme converting gambling interest into retirement funds could be replicated in developing countries

 

The World Bank has hailed Thailand's "Retirement Lottery" as a "remarkable innovation" for boosting retirement savings.

 

Following discussions at the WB-IMF Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C., the Bank expressed strong interest in studying the scheme, which cleverly channels the public's inclination towards gambling into a savings mechanism.

 

They believe it could serve as a model for other developing nations grappling with insufficient retirement savings.

 

Deputy Finance Minister Paopoom Rojanasakul highlighted the Bank's positive assessment of the lottery, noting its potential to efficiently incentivise saving with a relatively small budget.

 

The scheme involves digital scratch-off tickets costing 50 baht, with weekly prizes.

 

Crucially, the entire purchase price acts as the buyer's savings, returned with investment gains upon retirement at age 60, regardless of winnings.
  

Paopoom added that the "Retirement Lottery" project not only creates an efficient incentivized savings system but also requires a relatively small budget of approximately 750 million baht per year while stimulating savings of up to 13 billion baht annually.

 

Furthermore, it draws funds previously used for informal gambling into the formal system and converts them into national savings.
  



 

The World Bank sees the "Retirement Lottery" as a potential blueprint for other developing countries facing similar challenges in encouraging long-term savings for an aging populace. 

 

The project has already passed its initial stage in the Thai Parliament and is progressing through the legislative process.

NATION

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AFP-JIJI PRESS NEWS JOURNAL


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