Social protection systems help individuals and families, especially the poor and vulnerable,
cope with crises and shocks
, find jobs, improve productivity, invest in the health and education of their children, and protect the aging population.
Social protection policies play a critical role in realizing the human right to social security for all,
reducing poverty and inequality
, and promoting inclusive growth – by boosting human capital and productivity, and by supporting domestic demand and structural transformation of national economies.
Social protection schemes are important
tools to reduce poverty and inequality
. They do not only help to prevent individuals and their families from falling or remaining in poverty, they also contribute to economic growth by raising labour productivity and enhancing social stability.
Social protection consists of
policies and programs designed to reduce poverty and vulnerability by promoting efficient labour markets
, diminishing people’s exposure to risks, and enhancing their capacity to manage economic and social risks, such as unemployment, exclusion, sickness, disability, and old age.
Its main objective is
to tackle poverty and to protect people from risks and shocks caused by e.g. unexpected economic fluctuations
. Social Protection is often financed by public funds and contributions.
- Universality of protection.
- Dignity and autonomy.
- Inclusion of vulnerable groups.
- Equality and non-discrimination.
- Gender perspective.
- Transparency and access to information.
- Meaningful and effective participation.
- Access to accountability mechanisms and effective remedies.
They include old-age, survivor and disability pensions;
unemployment, sickness/injury, and health insurance
; and maternity/paternity benefits (UNDP, 2016: 35; World Bank, 2018b: 5).
In my experience, Social Protection is braod term to cover
both formal n informal areas of protection
, whereas social security is a component of social protection covering only contributory protection system mostly of the formal sectors of employment.
The difference between Social Security and Social Welfare is that
social welfare is a transfer of cash or means from a group (mostly govt.) to those in need
. Social protection on the other hand is more like an insurance program, where you reap the benefits of what you have been paying for.
Important areas of social policy are wellbeing and welfare,
poverty reduction, social security, justice, unemployment insurance
, living conditions, animal rights, pensions, health care, social housing, family policy, social care, child protection, social exclusion, education policy, crime and criminal justice, urban …
Social benefits are
current transfers received by households intended to provide for the needs that arise from certain events or circumstances
, for example, sickness, unemployment, retirement, housing, education or family circumstances. Source Publication: SNA 8.7.
governments have initiated a number of social protection programmes covering a large number of sectors including
health, education, employment and skills, housing, contingent social security and pensions
.
Social protection is
a human right
and is enshrined as such in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966), and in other major United Nations human rights instruments.
Social protection is defined by the ILO as the set of public measures that
a society provides for its members to protect them against economic and social distress caused by the absence or a substantial reduction of income from work as a result of various contingencies (sickness, maternity, employment injury,
…
Work and social insurance
Your social insurance contributions in Ireland are referred to as
PRSI (Pay Related Social Insurance)
. … If you are an employee, your PRSI contributions are deducted by your employer and collected by Revenue under the PAYE (Pay As You Earn) system.
What are the 3 types of Social Security?
- Retirement benefits.
- Survivor benefits.
- Disability benefits.
