The concept of social protection (also called ‘social security’ covers interventions by public or private bodies intended to reduce the burden on households and individuals within a defined set of risks or needs. To be considered as social benefits, these interventions must fulfil the following three conditions:
Firstly, they need to serve at least one of the eight functions of social security: sickness/healthcare, disability, old age, survivors, family/children, unemployment, housing and social exclusion.
Secondly, they are intended to show a certain level of social solidarity or be of a mandatory character based on a law or a collective agreement.
Thirdly, they must exclude any compensation of equivalent value borne by the beneficiaries (such as bank loans, healthcare deductibles and benefits from employers that are similar to wage components).
See also the concept of “function of social protection”.
Statistical source
FSO 2019, Gesamtrechnung der Sozialen Sicherheit: Überblick und Schlüsselbegriffe, Neuchâtel, p. 8–10 (This document is available only in German, French and Italian).
