Social Protection Monitor

Social Protection Measures throughout the world:

January to December 2019

The Social Protection Monitor presents the latest policy trends based on media announcements on social protection measures. This update covers January to December 2019.

Social protection measures by region

 

 

ALERT! Adjustment reforms:

Increasing contribution rate  9
Modifying calculation formula  5
Tightening eligibility criteria  4
Rationalization and narrowing of programmes or benefit  3
Reducing credit/budgetary allocation  3
Increasing retirement age  3
Contracting coverage  3
Suspending or closing existing programme  2
Privatization or introduction of individual accounts  1
Reducing benefit  1

 

More information on adjustment measures:

Social protection global policy trends 2010-2015

 

Developments by components of the social protection floor 

Social protection measures by country

 

Summary of trends

From January to December 2019, a total of 252 social protection reform measures were announced worldwide and captured by our monitor. A large part of the measures was concentrated in Asia and the Pacific (29.1 per cent), Europe and Central Asia (27.5 per cent) and Americas (25.9 per cent).

The period shows an overall positive evolution. However, 15 countries announced a total of 36 measures of contraction. Pensions were the most affected, with 26.5 per cent of all contractionary measures on increasing contribution rates, 14.7 per cent on modifying calculation formula, and 11.7 per cent on tightening the eligibility criteria.

Globally, 50.4 per cent of the measures refers to contributory systems and 34.3 per cent to contributory ones. The majority of the adjustments in social protection systems were parametric adjustments (84.9 per cent), while most structural reforms were expansionary (90.1 per cent of the total of structural measures).

The most cited social protection functions were measures consisting of pensions (39.3 per cent), followed by health (27.0 per cent), several functions (13.1 per cent), and family and children (7.6 per cent). The leading trend is increasing benefits (20.3 per cent; extending coverage (15.1 per cent) and introduction of new schemes or benefits (also 15.1 per cent), and improvement in access and administration (13.1 per cent).

Regarding the impact on specific population groups, about 9.2 per cent of the measures identified included a gender dimension and 29.5 per cent were applied to address specifically the needs of the poor or indigent.

    

Methodology

ILO’s Social Protection Monitor is based on media/news published online. The Monitor tracks announcements of social protection measures, defined as any policy decision that affects the functioning of a social protection system, from minor parametric adjustments to major developments and reforms, as well as social subsidies. The Monitor is a useful source for addressing the information gap since updates to the comprehensive global social protection statistics reported in the ILO Social Security Inquiry take years to compile. Note that the Monitor is biased given that governments do not always announce, and often underreport, contraction/adjustment measures. While the Monitor provides the most comprehensive list of announced social protection measures and a glimpse at present global trends, it does not replace the thorough analysis provided by the ILO’s Social Security Inquiry and the World Social Protection Report. For a full list of measures by country, click here

Top ten expansionary measures

Increasing benefit level 51
Introducing new programme or benefit 38
Extending coverage 38
Improving access/administration 34
Increasing credit/budgetary allocation 17
Increasing benefit duration 9
Reducing contribution rates 3
Reducing or eliminating fee on services  3
Improving services or management  3
Increasing package of services  3

Developments by type of social protection scheme

 

Measures classified by social protection functions

See more:

Global Social Protection Monitor 2010-2019

Social Protection Responses to COVID-19 (2020)

The ILO Social Security Inquiry

World Social Protection Data Dashboards

WSPR 2017-2019

 

Highlights:  

  • In the Philippines, a law institutionalizing the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (a conditional cash transfer program that aims to address poverty as well as children's health and education) was signed into law.
  • In China, the State Council has directed regional governments to reduce the burden of social security contributions on employers, in a bid to reduce business costs and stimulate economic activity. This initiative has been spurred by the ongoing US-China trade war, which has seen China's industrial profits drop to their lowest point since 2011.
  • In China, the government is increasing subsidies by 19 per cent this year for the Serious Illness Social Insurance programme, which covers more than 20 million people. In August, the government implemented the Central Adjustment System to support underfunded pension funds.
  • In Nigeria, the federal government has launched the Micro Pension Plan which extends contributory participation to the informal sector. This is indeed an exciting development for Africa's most populous country, boasting a workforce of over 80 million workers.
  • In Côte d'Ivoire, a universal health insurance program has been started in April 2019. The new compulsory national scheme aims to provide low cost access to public health facilities.
  • In Mexico, the iconic Prospera program (formerly known as Progresa and Oportunidades) has been abolished.  Funding for this program has since been re-allocated to two universal schemes (including the Pensión para el Bienestar de las Personas Adultas Mayores, an universal non-contributory pension).
  • In France, the two national pension schemes ARRCO (for blue-collar workers) and AGIRC (for white-collar workers) have merged into a single entity. This development is expected to improve administrative efficiency and reduce costs.
  • In Tunisia, a locally developed mobile phone application called Ahmini ("Protect Me") is being applied to enable female agricultural workers to register remotely for the social security health program.
  • In the United States, California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), the largest public pension fund in the US, has moved to increase its private equity investments as a means to improve investment returns and overcome increasing pension liabilities.
  • In Hungary, the government has announced measures to increase investments in health care, housing and pro-family income support grants in a bid to encourage Hungarians to have more children. Hungary's population is declining by 32,000 a year, which is putting into jeopardy the sustainability of its economic and pension systems.
  • In Kenya, the government has introduced a new contributory civil service pension scheme in a bid to curb the escalating cost of employee retirement benefit costs, which were previously not pre-funded.
  • In Canada, federal government has entered into social security information exchange bi-lateral relationships with over 60 countries to facilitate the timely payment of pensions to seniors living abroad.
  • In Pakistan, the government has recently established a new non-contributory called Hum Qadam program to provide a monthly stipend for the disabled.