In September, the US Social Security Administration (SSA) launched “Social Security Programs throughout the world: Europe, 2018,” the first of a series of four volumes. This volume provides a comparison of social security systems in 45 European countries. It summarizes the five main social insurance programs in those countries: (1) old age, disability and survivors (OADS); (2) illness and maternity; (3) work accidents; (4) unemployment and (5) family allowances. The other regional volumes of the series focus on the social security systems of the countries of Asia and the Pacific, Africa and the Americas.
The notable changes made since the SSA launched the 2016 volume include:
Benefits covered:
- Albania (funeral expenses payment)
- Andorra (old age contribution, spousal subsidy and unemployment benefits)
- Austria (paternity benefit)
- Belarus (certain childcare subsidies)
- Belgium (guaranteed family benefits)
- Croatia (guaranteed minimum income)
- Cyprus (paternity benefit)
- Czech Republic (paternity benefits and long-term care subsidy)
- Estonia (work capacity allowance and multiple birth grant)
- Germany (minimum income support)
- Ireland (paternity and family return to work allowance)
- Isle of Man (nursing care contribution)
- Italy (low-income pension supplement, pregnancy subsidy, child care coupon and income inclusion allowance)
- Liechtenstein (subsistence allowance)
- Luxembourg (old-age pension and paternity benefit)
- Malta (reduction of unemployment assistance)
- The Netherlands (benefits for elderly workers, benefits for elderly workers with partial disability and childcare subsidy)
- Norway (mandatory professional pensions and additional benefit for single parents)
- Poland (paternity benefits and special nursing benefits)
- Portugal (social benefit for inclusion)
- San Marino (extraordinary unemployment benefit)
- Slovakia (child care subsidy, maternal needs subsidies, single and special subsidies)
- Spain (special family allowance)
Major reforms to existing benefits:
- OADS: Austria, Belarus, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Russia, San Marino, United Kingdom
- Illness and maternity: France, Germany
- Work injuries: Denmark, Greece
- Unemployment: Italy, Lithuania, Turkey
- Family assistance: Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Serbia
- Medical benefits: Latvia, Moldova
- Increases in the contribution rates for OADS programs: Andorra, Bulgaria, Finland, France, Guernsey, Ireland, Latvia,
- Liechtenstein, Monaco, the Netherlands and San Marino.
- Reduction in contribution rates for OADS programs: Germany, Hungary, Lithuania and Romania.
- Retirement age increases:
- For men and women: Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Moldova, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia and Spain.
- Only for women: Albania, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine.
New administrative agencies: Greece and Hungary.
