Other benefits

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Depending on the definition of social protection used (which my vary from country to country) in any given context, national social protection systems may also comprise benefits which cannot easily be classified into the nine “standard” branches of social security, namely health care, sickness, old age, unemployment, employment injury, family and child support, maternity, disability and survivors benefits.

With the extension of social protection in developing countries, it has become more common to include other types of benefits in national definitions of social protection systems. For example, social protection initiatives may provide agricultural input subsidies, youth employment programmes, school feeding programmes or subsidized transport. Social protection may not be the primary objective of such programmes as they provide other benefits, such as enhancing agricultural production and food security, promoting education, enhancing skills and promoting employment. The multiplicity of objectives has implications for policy design and implementation and the realization of the right to social security.

Following an outcome-oriented approach, Recommendation No. 202 is open to including different types of benefits and schemes in nationally-defined social protection floors, based on clear principles and guidance.

Photo credit: “Sitting outside in defiance of cultural expectations” by UN Women (CCBY 2.0 via Flickr).

Principles

Persons with disabilities

Social protection plays a key role in realizing the rights of persons with disabilities of all ages: providing them with an adequate standard of living, a basic level of income security; thus reducing levels of poverty and vulnerability. Moreover, mainstream and/or specific social protection schemes concerning persons with disabilities can have a major role in […]

Legal Instruments

Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No. 102)

A reference for the development of social security systems, Convention No. 102 is the flagship of the up-to-date social security Conventions since it is deemed to embody the internationally accepted definition of the very principle of social security.  Convention No. 102 is unique for both its conceptual formulation of social security, and the guidance it provides for […]

Social Protection Floors Recommendation, 2012 (No. 202)

Recommendation No. 202 is the first international instrument to offer guidance to countries to close social security gaps and progressively achieve universal protection through the establishment and maintenance of comprehensive social security systems. To this aim, the Recommendation calls for (1) the implementation, as a priority, of social protection floors (SPF) as a fundamental element […]

Resources

Universal social protection for human dignity, social justice and sustainable development: General Survey concerning the Social Protection Floors Recommendation, 2012 (No. 202)

The ILO’s General Survey 2019 , compiled by the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR). The Survey (published under the title Universal social protection for human dignity, social justice and sustainable development) focuses on the ILO’s Social Protection Floors Recommendation, 2012 (No. 202), which calls for basic income security and essential healthcare […]

Social security system of Ukraine in 2014–15 and beyond: towards effective social protection floors

This report presents a review of the recent changes made to the Ukrainian social security system between 2014 and 2015 and of the planned future reforms in the light of international social security standards. The ILO assessment aims to assist the Ukrainian Government and the social partners in effectively formulating and implementing measures to sustain […]

World Social Protection Report 2014/15: Building economic recovery, inclusive development and social justice

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. This ILO flagship report provides a global overview of the organization of […]

Social Protection and Human Rights