The social security system (Spanish: seguridad social) in Spain is its principal system of social protection. The concept of social security first appeared in Spain in 1883 under the Committee for Social Reform, it was expanded several times during the twentieth century and finally the right to social security was enshrined in the Spanish Constitution of 1978 under Article 41 which states "that the public authorities shall maintain a public social security system for all citizens, guaranteeing sufficient support and social benefits in situations of need, especially in the event of unemployment, and that the support and additional benefits shall be free".
Social security was first examined under the Liberal government of Posada Herrera, who set up a government commission to examine Social Reform in October 1883. [1] 1900 Labour Accidents Act; 1919 Worker Retirement; Obligatory Maternity Insurance 1923; Forced Unemployment Insurance 1931; Obligatory Old-Age and Disability Insurance (SOVI) 1947;Social Security Bases Act 1963; General Social Security Act of 1966.
The right to social security was enshrined in Article 41 of the Spanish Constitution of 1978 and envisages a varied system of benefits structured on three levels: basic social security, assistance to cover professional and employment categories and supplementary benefits.
Moreover, article 149.1.17 ª provides that the State has exclusive jurisdiction over basic legislation and financial regulation of the social security system, without prejudice to the performance of its services by the autonomous communities.
As an important piece of evolving legislation, social security in Spain is regulated by Royal Decree 1 / 1994 of June 20, by adopting the text of the General Law on Social Security (BOE of 29). This regulation has been amended on numerous occasions.
The Spanish social security system is structured as follows:
Membership is obligatory, unique and covers the entire life of the person included in the system.
Levels of security must reflect the initial and subsequent contributor's working life.
Contributions (or payment of fees) are required from the commencement of a work activity (whether or not they have affiliated formally, at whatever level).
Class | Category | Minimum | Ceiling | Employer | Employee | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pension & Accident | Unemployment | Insolvency | Training | Pension & Accident | Unemployment | Insolvency | Training | ||||
1 | Post Graduates | €1,051.1 | €3,425.7 | 23.6% | 5.5% | 0.2% | 0.6% | 4.7% | 1.55% | 0.1% | |
2 | Graduates & professionals | €872.1 | €3,425.7 | ||||||||
3 | Administrative | €758.7 | €3,425.7 | ||||||||
4,5,6 & 7 | Non qualified | €753 | €3,425.7 | ||||||||
8,9,10 & 11 | Under 18 & Labourers | €25.1 | €114.9 |
The purpose of social security is to guarantee to those people who fall within the scope of the act, (those who carry out an occupational activity, or that meet the requirements of the non-contributory category, such as family members or dependants for whom they have responsibility), adequate protection against those contingencies and situations contemplated by the law.
The scope of the act for the contributory category, includes those Spanish nationals who reside in Spain, and non-Spanish citizens who are residing or are staying legally in Spain, provided that in both cases they are carrying out their activities on Spanish national territory, and covers:
Protection provided by social security will include (cover):
In practice the non contributory category is understood to cover Spanish nationals resident in Spain.
The social security reserve fund for year ending 2007 was €45,715 million euros.
Welfare is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance programs, which provide support only to those who have previously contributed, as opposed to social assistance programs, which provide support on the basis of need alone. The International Labour Organization defines social security as covering support for those in old age, support for the maintenance of children, medical treatment, parental and sick leave, unemployment and disability benefits, and support for sufferers of occupational injury.
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The International Social Security Association (ISSA) is an international organization bringing together national social security administrations and agencies. Founded in 1927, the ISSA has more than 330 member organizations in 158 countries. It has its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, in the International Labour Office (ILO). The ISSA President, elected in 2016, is Joachim Breuer (Germany) and the Secretary General since 2019 is Marcelo Abi-Ramia Caetano (Brazil).
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Social security in Finland, or welfare in Finland, is very comprehensive compared to other countries. In the late 1980s, Finland had one of the world's most advanced welfare systems, one that guaranteed decent living conditions for all Finns. Since then social security has been cut back, but still the system is one of the most comprehensive in the world. Created almost entirely during the first three decades after World War II, the social security system was an outgrowth of the traditional Nordic belief that the state was not inherently hostile to the well-being of its citizens, but could intervene benevolently on their behalf. According to some social historians, the basis of this belief was a relatively benign history that had allowed the gradual emergence of a free and independent peasantry in the Nordic countries and had curtailed the dominance of the nobility and the subsequent formation of a powerful right wing. Finland's history has been harsher than the histories of the other Nordic countries, but not harsh enough to bar the country from following their path of social development.
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