Social Protection 285
- At least one of the following three conditions is
met:
Participation in the scheme is obligatory ei-
ther by law or under the terms and conditions
of employment of an employee, or group of
employees.
Th e scheme is a collective one operated for
the benefi t of a designated group of workers,
whether employed or unemployed, participa-
tion being restricted to members of that group.
An employer makes a contribution (actual or
imputed) to the scheme on behalf of an em-
ployee, regardless of whether the employee also
makes a contribution.
A2.31 A social insurance contribution is the
amount payable to a social insurance scheme in order
for a designated benefi ciary to be entitled to receive
the social benefi ts covered by the scheme. A social in-
surance benefi t is a social benefi t payable because the
benefi ciary participates in a social insurance scheme
and the identifi ed circumstances have occurred.
A2.32 As indicated in paragraph A2.22, the types
of benefi ciaries covered by the social insurance
scheme determine the next level in the typology of
this scheme (see Figure A2.2). Th e individuals or
households eligible to receive social insurance ben-
efi ts are either a group of employees, the general pop-
ulation, or a large segment of the general population.
Social security schemes are social insurance schemes
that cover the community as a whole, or large sec-
tions of the community, and are imposed and con-
trolled by government units. In contrast, as indicated
in paragraph A2.40, social insurance schemes in
which employers provide social insurance benefi ts
only to their employees, former employees, or their
benefi ciaries are referred to as other employment-
related social insurance schemes. Where the same
scheme covers the general population and govern-
ment employees, the scheme is treated as a social
security scheme. However, if the conditions for par-
ticipation and benefi ts payable, as determined by the
employment contract, diff er from those of the social
security scheme for nongovernment employee par-
ticipants, an employment-related scheme exists and
the fl ows and stock positions of the two schemes
should be distinguished within the social security
fund (see paragraph 2.102).
Social security schemes
A2.33 Social security schemes are social insur-
ance schemes covering the community as a whole, or
large sections of the community, and are imposed and
controlled by government units. Th ese schemes cover
a wide variety of programs, providing benefi ts in cash
or in kind for old age, invalidity or death, survivors,
sickness and maternity, work injury, unemployment,
family allowance, health care, etc. Th ere is not neces-
sarily a direct link between the amount of the con-
tribution payable by an individual and the benefi ts
receivable.A2.34 Social security schemes that are organized
separately from the other activities of government
units, hold their assets and liabilities separately from
the latter, and engage in fi nancial transactions on their
own account qualify as institutional units. Th ese insti-
tutional units are described as social security funds.
A social security fund is a particular kind of govern-
ment unit that is devoted to the operation of one or
more social security schemes. Th ese special types of
government units are identifi ed separately in a subsec-
tor to allow for the alternative methods of construct-
ing subsectors of the general government sector (see
paragraph 2.78). Th e existence of a social security fund
depends on its organization as a separate institutional
unit, not on other characteristics of the scheme, such
as types of benefi ts provided or sources of fi nance.A2.35 Not all social security schemes are operated
by social security funds. Where a separate social secu-
rity fund does not exist, the transactions of the social
security scheme would be reported as an integral part
of the transactions of the government unit that controls
operations of the social security scheme. Social secu-
rity schemes can therefore be operated by government
units that are not social security funds. Consequently,
statistics for the social security funds subsector may not
include all social security schemes. If a social security
scheme is not a separate institutional unit, however,
there may be separate accounts to manage the scheme’s
fi nances, which would permit compiling supplemen-
tary statistics on social security activities with broader
coverage than that of the social security subsector.A2.36 By defi nition, social security schemes are
contributory—participants in the scheme are re-
quired to make regular contributions to be eligible to