The risk of under-insurance in the Finnish statutory pension scheme for self-employed workers: A trajectory analysis

Using unique data on the contribution base, we investigate under-insurance within the statutory pension scheme for self-employed workers in Finland. Under-insurance is defined as the difference between pension-declared income and tax-declared income. The trajectory modelling technique applied has allowed us to estimate the levels of under-insurance for different subgroups and to identify possible explanatory factors. Under-insurance is found to be persistent and large. The analysis reveals six distinctive and homogenous sub-groups of self-employed workers. Close to 84 per cent of these workers pay too little in contributions, often leading to inadequate protection against personal risks. Especially for lower-income self-employed workers, this points to myopic behaviour as regards contributing to the self-employed statutory pension scheme and calls for fine-tuned economic incentives.     

Social health insurance development in Mongolia: Opportunities and challenges in moving towards Universal Health Coverage

Mongolia achieved high population coverage under mandatory health insurance relatively quickly. This fact was viewed by policy‐ and decision‐makers as a central issue for health financing reform in Mongolia. Health insurance brought many new features for health service planning, provision, funding and resource management. Based on initial achievements, health insurance came to be strategically considered as the vehicle for achieving universal coverage. The article analyses developments in Mongolia's health insurance over the last decade along with the core policy dimensions of Universal Health Coverage. It examines various reform approaches and the numerous amendments to laws that have been implemented during this period and discusses new opportunities as well as challenges. The analytical review and findings discussed suggest that Mongolia has a need for evidence‐based policy decisions and informed political support, with health insurance backed by robust institutional and administrative capacities. More generally, it also emphasizes that health policy goals and objectives can be attained by strengthening and making transparent and publicly‐accountable all health system financing functions and arrangements. The policy analysis, experiences, lessons and proposed strategies presented with regard to Mongolia intend to stimulate wider discussions on health insurance development as well as promote continuing focused research on specific aspects of health insurance and public financing reform.     

Inequity in access to the Argentinian pension system (1994–2017)

Pension coverage in Argentina is inequitably distributed between different income levels, both during working years and during retirement. The objective of the article is to study the evolution of inequity in access to the Argentinian pension system in terms of its association with the socio‐economic status of individuals during the period 1994–2017. An evaluation is offered of how variables such as sex, age, and educational attainment influence such inequity. It is concluded that, although the level of average coverage increased, inequity in access increased significantly in the years following the 1994 reform, both among the active and the inactive population. However, inequity in access among active persons did not improve substantially with the return to the pay‐as‐you‐go pension system, while it was considerably reduced among the inactive population. While the former are found to be affected to a greater extent in terms of coverage as a result of the pro‐educated bias among the active population, the latter outcome is thought to be a direct result of the transitory plan (Pension Inclusion Plan) for pension inclusion, after which inequity was to resume its upward course.     

Access to social protection among people with disabilities: Evidence from Viet Nam

Although people with disabilities are frequently targeted as key beneficiaries of social protection, little is known on their access to existing programmes. This study uses mixed methods to explore participation in disability‐targeted and non‐targeted social protection programmes in Viet Nam, particularly in the district of Cam Le. In this district, social assistance and health insurance coverage among people with disabilities was 53 per cent and 96 per cent respectively. However, few accessed employment‐linked social insurance and other disability‐targeted benefits (e.g. vocational training, transportation discounts). Factors affecting access included the accessibility of the application process, disability assessment procedures, awareness and the perceived utility of programmes, and attitudes on disability and social protection.     

Extending access to contributory pensions: The case of Uruguay

Since the 1980s, many Latin American countries have tightened access to contributory pensions, with financial sustainability being a main concern. Studies suggest that a sizable share of contributors would not be able to comply with stricter access conditions, since observed contribution densities were low. While most Latin American countries lack complete work history records, the observed density of contributions offered strong evidence of short contribution histories, in particular for low‐income workers and women. In the last decade these facts drove a new wave of reforms, in the form of less demanding eligibility requirements to access pensions and the need for a gender perspective. Uruguay took part in both processes, increasing vesting period conditions in 1996, then lowering them and granting childcare credits in 2008. In this article, we analyse the effects that less strict eligibility requirements would have on pension entitlements in Uruguay, estimating complete contribution histories using administrative records. Work history records have been kept since April 1996 only, meaning there are still no complete work histories. The study finds that pension rights would increase, in particular for women. The main effect would be driven by the lower contribution requirement. In addition, childcare credits would further reduce the gender gap in terms of access to benefits. The case of Uruguay is relevant in the regional context, as most Latin American countries are ageing rapidly and can learn from the Uruguayan experience, a country with vital statistics closer to those of developed countries. Also, recent reforms in the region show shared concerns on pension rights and the gender gap.     

Introduction: Social security and the digital economy – Managing transformation

This special issue of the International Social Security Review considers the multidisciplinary topic of social security and the digital economy. The selected articles that comprise this issue offer a number of varying perspectives on the changing and increasingly complex environment in which social security institutions operate and critically assess not only how social security institutions are likely to be impacted but also how they may respond to the challenges foreseen. Social security institutions do not have control over external factors that can negatively impact the financing and coverage of social security programmes. Nonetheless, with the shift to the digital economy, the task at hand is to manage an unprecedented process of change. Though ensuring service continuity is the primary concern, also required are improvements in service delivery for all stakeholders and the development of responses to meet new operational challenges and emerging coverage risks. Particularly in more developed economies, the socio‐economic challenges that accompany the labour market changes associated with the transition to the digital economy are often characterized as presenting a risk of growing precarity. Regardless, the global policy goal remains one of ensuring sustainable and adequate social security protection for all.     

Social security reforms in Kenya: Towards a workerist or a citizenship‐based system?

With social security provisions in Kenya remaining under‐reported in the more recent literature, this overview covers recent reforms in key areas of the country's social security system. In the health sector and in old‐age pension provision social security is still mainly workerist (biased toward those in formal employment), and attempts to expand coverage have had limited effect only – cash transfer programmes, for instance, have been expanded but in practice they do not universally cover the entitled categories. Thus, although the Kenyan social security system now has a considerable pro‐poor social assistance component it remains biased toward those in formal employment, to the benefit of the highest income quintile.     

Social protection systems and the future of work: Ensuring social security for digital platform workers

Digitalization is transforming societies and economies worldwide at an unprecedented scale and pace. In the wake of automation and digitalization, new forms of employment have been emerging in various occupations and sectors, such as the digital platform economy. The emergence of new forms of employment, such as work on digital platforms, requires that existing social protection systems adapt to the specific situation and needs of such workers, as to realize the human right to social security for all. Current social protection coverage for workers on digital crowdwork platforms reveals significant gaps in social security coverage. Where such coverage exists, it is often provided through the workers’ previous or additional jobs, or indirectly through their spouses or other family members. This raises questions about digital platforms free riding on the traditional economy with regard to the financing of social security. How can social protection systems adapt to changing forms of work to ensure full and effective coverage for workers in all forms of employment, including those in “new” forms of employment? How can workers in all types of employment, including those on digital platforms, be protected in an adequate and comprehensive way, combining contributory and non‐contributory mechanisms and based on equitable and sustainable financing mechanisms, so as to ensure adequate social protection to all?     

Expanding economic protection to the elderly in Latin America

This article addresses the reforms introduced in Latin American pension systems that had the aim of increasing coverage beyond formal‐sector workers. For this purpose, fourteen representative regional experiences are analysed using a taxonomy based on features of the cases examined in terms of design, implementation and results. The findings show that, although the reforms share the goal of expanding coverage, there are significant differences deriving from the context in which they were originally designed, their goals, and the capacity available to implement them. The results are not homogeneous, and it is possible to identify some aspects in which policy decisions can lead to better or worse results.     

Informal workers and Kenya’s National Hospital Insurance Fund: Identifying barriers to voluntary participation

This article investigates the barriers to informal workers’ voluntary participation in Kenya’s national health insurance scheme – the National Hospital Insurance Fund. Based on primary data from both qualitative and quantitative methods, we find that the key determinants of enrolment include social factors, such as marital status, which create demand for insurance, and the role of informal workers’ associations that promote the voluntary uptake of health insurance and prevent default through contribution support. Participation barriers and reasons for inactiveness stem from the nature of informal work characterized by irregular earnings, which combine with apprehension about having to pay penalty charges for the late payment of premiums, inadequate levels of knowledge about health insurance schemes, institutional constraints such as complex registration procedures, as well as premium costs and poor-quality services, all of which discourage enrolment or the reactivation of lapsed membership. There is thus a need for health insurance schemes, such as Kenya’s National Hospital Insurance Fund, to educate informal workers on insurance services and protocols and to improve services to encourage uptake and reduce default behaviour.