Social security is a monetary
assistance by the state to its people who have less or no income. A general term
initially used to refer to the programs mandated in the United States by the
Social Security Act of 1935.Some amendments were also made to the act since
then, it now consists of benefits for old age, survivors, and disability.
Through social security, programs that provide assistance to certain segments of
the public are administrated, such as Public Assistance. It is funded usually by
mandatory payroll contributions (typically 5 to 8 percent of a paycheck) from
both the employees and the employers, and from the government's tax revenue.
Four basic categories of Social Security benefits are paid based upon the record
of your earnings: retirement, disability, dependents, and survivors’ benefits.
These benefits all fall under the Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance
Program (OASDI), which is the official name of Social Security.
Informal sector workers constitute a large and increasing part of the labor
force in most developing countries. Many of them are not able or willing to
contribute a significant percentage of their incomes to finance formal sector
social insurance benefits that do not meet their priority needs. Therefore,
informal sector workers themselves need to (and have) set up health and other
social insurance schemes that better meet their needs and contributory capacity.
In addition, special social assistance schemes are necessary to protect the most
vulnerable groups outside the labor force.