Pre-course - Module C

GLOSSARY OF MAJOR CONCEPTS AND TECHNICAL CLARIFICATIONS ON SYSTEMS

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Key questions

Which different forms of social protection programmes exist?
How can different types of social protection schemes be integrated in a comprehensive social security system?
What are the different branches of social security?
What is the level of social expenditure in low and middle-income countries?

Objectives

The objective of this Module is to make employers familiar with the classification and functioning of different social protection schemes and with the main branches of social security. The ILO's strategy for the extension of social protection coverage is introduced and an overview of the levels of social expenditures in middle and low-income countries is provided.

Master Module C

Take away message

Social transfers are distributed through different types of social protection schemes including contributory and non-contributory schemes;
Contributory schemes are directly financed by their beneficiaries (protected persons and their employers) through the payment of contributions; the most common form is social insurance schemes;
Non-contributory schemes instead do not require direct contribution from beneficiaries or their employers as a condition of entitlement to receive benefits. They are divided into programs directly targeted towards the poor (conditional or non-conditional cash transfer / social assistance schemes and employment guarantee schemes) and into programs not specifically targeted towards the poor (universal and categorical schemes);
To guarantee efficiency and enhance the implementation of effective national social security programs coordination among different schemes is required;
In alignment with the ILO strategy, comprehensive social protection systems should guarantee at least a basic level of social security to all through nationally-defined social protection floors (horizontal dimension) and progressively provide higher levels of protection to as many people as possible (vertical dimension);
The needs social protection programs address are embedded in the branches of social security: healthcare, old-age pensions, maternity benefits, survivors’ pensions, children and family benefits, employment injury benefits, disability benefits, sickness benefits, unemployment benefits;
Levels of social protection expenditure vary. What is important is to invest efficiently in social protection programs that respond to the needs of the population.