Decent work indicators for Social Security

The dimension social security refers to measures that provide social benefits, in cash or in kind, to secure protection, from (i) lack of inadequate income caused by sickness, disability, maternity, employment injury, unemployment, old age, or death of a family member; (ii) lack of access to health care, inadequate family support, general poverty and social exclusion. The dimension is operationalized using the following indicators that cover some of the aspects mentioned above: (i) active contributors to a pension scheme in the working-age population (ii) health expenditure not financed out of pocket by private households (iii) percentage of unemployed receiving unemployment benefits; (iv) public social security expenditure and health expenditure (percentage of GDP).

Legal base and framework (social security):
The right to social security is recognized as a human right in article 22 and 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and in article 9 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966). The ILO’s Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention (1952), establishes nine classes of benefit, these are medical care and benefits in respect of sickness, unemployment, old age, employment injury, family, maternity, invalidity and survivors