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What role can health mutuals and community-based health insurance play in social health protection systems? pmassetti ilo.org (03.02.2025) At the global level, mutuals primarily focus on providing complementary or supplementary coverage to basic health schemes. Only a small number of countries incorporate mutuals and community-based health insurance (CBHI) into the architecture of their basic health coverage systems. This working paper explores various country experiences where mutuals and CBHI contribute to basic health coverage within national social protection systems. Despite a wealth of literature on mutuals and CBHI, little is known about the practical methods used to integrate them into national social health protection architectures. Mutual benefit societies
Warsaw sets sights on European digital health revolution pmassetti Euractiv (03.03.2025) Poland intends to use its presidency to promote European solutions in digital healthcare transformation while working towards establishing common standards for medical data at the EU level. Along with healthcare digitalisation, prevention, mental health and combating disinformation were also discussed. Healthcare digitalisation in Poland is an area that may be of interest to the European Union. We have good solutions we can promote internationally, emphasised Deputy Minister of Health Katarzyna Kacperczyk during the conference, highlighting Poland's successes in this field. Health poland
Artificial intelligence in public health: promises, challenges, and an agenda for policy makers and public health institutions pmassetti The Lancet Public Health (23.03.2025) Artificial intelligence (AI) can rapidly analyse large and complex datasets, extract tailored recommendations, support decision making, and improve the efficiency of many tasks that involve the processing of data, text, or images. As such, AI has the potential to revolutionise public health practice and research, but accompanying challenges need to be addressed. AI can be used to support public health surveillance, epidemiological research, communication, the allocation of resources, and other forms of decision making. It can also improve productivity in daily public health work. Core challenges to its widespread adoption span equity, accountability, data privacy, the need for robust digital infrastructures, and workforce skills. Artificial intelligence
Pensions vs earnings across Europe: The highest and lowest comparisons pmassetti Euronews (13.02.2025) In many European countries, pension income is significantly lower than pre-retirement earnings from work. This makes it difficult for many older people to maintain their standard of living after retirement. Nearly one in six pensioners are at the risk-of-poverty in the EU, with the rate increasing from 12% in 2013 to 15.5% in 2023. So, how do pensions compare to pre-retirement work income across Europe? In which countries do pensioners receive the highest and the lowest share of their late-career work earnings?  Eurostat's Aggregate Replacement Ratio evaluates the effectiveness of pension systems in enabling older people to maintain their standard of living after retirement.  Pensions Europe
Singapore. Rethinking ageing: From caregiving to community and contribution pmassetti pensionpolicyinternational.com (17.02.2025) Caring for an elderly loved one might not be on your radar right now, but it’s a role many of us will take on eventually. “Almost all of us in Singapore will be, or already are, a caregiver,” Mr Dinesh Vasu Dash, CEO of the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC), observed. When his childless, widowed paternal uncle, now in his mid-80s, was hospitalised with a severe bout of influenza A, it was Mr Dinesh’s parents – both in their 70s – who stepped in. They accompanied him to medical appointments, encouraged him to eat despite his poor appetite and ensured he had everything he needed for recovery. This scenario reflects a growing trend in Singapore. With an average life expectancy of 84.9 years, more caregivers are now seniors themselves. While they may face physical challenges, such as helping bedbound loved ones, many have more time to dedicate to caregiving due to retirement or reduced work commitments. Long-term care, Old-age pensions singapore
Confronting the consequences of a new demographic reality pmassetti mckinsey.com (15.01.2025) Exploring the implications of a new demographic reality brought on by falling fertility and increasing longevity. Pensions, Policy analysis
India: Gig workers may soon get pension benefits via EPFO pmassetti The Economic Times (06.02.2025) The Ministry of Labour and Employment is set to introduce a policy granting pension benefits to gig and platform workers through the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation. This will supplement the existing health cover under PM Jan Aarogya Yojana. The pension plan, funded by aggregators, aims to provide financial security for gig workers, recognizing their significant contribution to the services economy. digital platforms Platform workers india
Digitalisation in Social Protection: Lessons from Azerbaijan pmassetti Development Pathways (11.02.2025) The global shift towards digitalisation is revolutionising social protection information systems, including those in low- and middle-income countries. Gone are the days of inefficient paper-based processes: digital technologies are now indispensable for enhancing efficiency, minimising errors, and enabling data-driven decision-making. Emerging technologies like generative AI are accelerating this transformation. Azerbaijan is leading the way among middle-income countries with its exemplary digitalisation initiatives in social protection. As illustrated in Figure 1, and discussed below, its digital and integrated information system eco-system is anchored in three powerful components. E-services, Technological transition azerbaijan
Concerns grow in South Korea over sustainability of national pension amid plunging subscribers in aging society pmassetti The Korea Times (09.02.2025) The number of national pension subscribers continues to decline due mainly to the low birthrate and aging population, data from the National Pension Service (NPS) showed Sunday, raising concerns over its sustainability. In contrast, the number of recipients is increasing, pushing the current national pension system toward a risk of fund depletion. But discussions on ways to make the pension system more sustainable have been delayed. Pensions korea, Republic of
Strengthening mental health in the WHO European Region in 2024: a year in review pmassetti who.int (04.02.2027) The year 2024 saw the Mental Health Flagship, under the Division of Country Health Policies and Systems at the WHO Regional Office for Europe, make inroads in more sustainable and accessible mental health systems through four key areas: policy, services, data collection and stigma reduction. It marked the third year of the pan-European Mental Health Coalition and second year of the Addressing mental health challenges in the European Union (‎EU)‎, Iceland and Norway project, funded by the European Union. Through these initiatives, the Flagship cemented important partnerships and built country capacity in implementing evidence-based policy, protecting the human rights of people with lived experience of mental health conditions, and supporting the mental health of health and care workers. This report provides a snapshot of the Flagship’s activities for 2024. Health Europe
Chile's Congress approves reform to private pension system pmassetti Reuters (29.02.2025) Chile's Congress approved a reform to the country's controversial private pension system on Wednesday, clearing the way for the bill to be signed by President Gabriel Boric. With 110 votes in favor and 38 against, the reform includes increased employer contributions, raises the guaranteed minimum pension and modifies the country's private Chile's Pension Fund Administrators (AFP) system. Pension reform was a key campaign promise by Boric, who rode a wave of left-wing optimism to the presidency following mass protests against inequality.
Greece Moves to Digitize Pension Records in Effort to Speed Up Payments - Dnews pmassetti As part of this modernization effort, EFKA is upgrading its ATLAS pension allocation system by digitizing paper records from 1980 onwards across all primary and supplementary insurance funds.
Including those in need, when they need it: Why dynamic social registries matter in shock-prone contexts like the Sahel pmassetti worldbank.org (29.01.2025) The Sahel is faced with increasingly frequent and severe interconnected shocks, particularly those related to climate change and conflict, exacerbating risks and vulnerabilities to poverty, food insecurity, inequality, and low levels of human capital. To effectively respond to these crises, governments require systems enabling them to rapidly and accurately identify sudden changes in household welfare. A new study supported by the Sahel Adaptive Social Protection Program (SASPP), explores how dynamic social registries, as essential delivery systems, can play this role, effectively assessing changes in welfare among poor and vulnerable populations, those affected by climate change, and forcibly displaced groups. poverty Service delivery, Shocks & extreme events Africa
India: Government to Provide ID Cards and Security for Gig Workers pmassetti thedailyguardian.com 801.02.20259 Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her Budget 2025 speech, announced that the government will issue ID cards to gig workers. These workers will also get healthcare benefits through a social security scheme. Moreover, the government will invest in street vendors, urban workers, and online platform workers to improve their financial security. digital platforms Extension of coverage, Platform workers india
Marco de Ciberseguridad rruggia Marco de Ciberseguridad - Reference website of AGESIC, the uruguayan egov agency. cybersecurity Security uruguay
Publication: State of the Art of Social Registries in Latin America and the Caribbean pmassetti worldbank.org (2025) The World Bank has worked to strengthen social registries in LAC and globally for several decades. This technical note aims to contribute to reducing the knowledge gap on the state of the art and challenges of social registries in LAC, identify where they are about various analysis criteria, and generate recommendations on strategies to strengthen and consolidate their role in the design, implementation, and evaluation of social policies in the region. This technical note is organized into five sections, including this introduction. The second section presents the role of social registries in social policy. Section three presents the evolution of social registries in LAC and how they adapted to the challenges that arose to provide immediate responses during the COVID-19 pandemic. The fourth part generally describes the state of the art of social registries in the region, analyzed from five pillars: (i) institutional arrangements, (ii) structural aspects, (iii) implementation chain, (iv) information and interoperability systems, and (v) performance measures. The fifth section presents the main challenges facing the registries and the study's recommendations. Data management latin america
Thailand: Implementation of the Employee Welfare Fund pmassetti wtwco.com (15.01.2025) The Employee Welfare Fund, Thailand’s much-anticipated financial safety net for employees, is set to launch in late 2025, bringing new contribution requirements for employers and their workforces. thailand
China: Expansion of voluntary personal pension system - WTW pmassetti In 2022, China’s central government piloted new tax incentives in 36 cities and regions to encourage employees to make voluntary contributions to individual retirement accounts to complement social security pension benefits and help address the challenges of a rapidly aging population. After a successful pilot, the system is now fully implemented nationwide as of December 15, 2024. Pensions china
Artificial Intelligence and Social Protection: a tool for enhanced efficiency or for exclusion? pmassetti socialprotection.org (15.01.2025) Artificial Intelligence (AI) has undergone rapid advancements in recent times in terms of computational power and general usage of algorithms across multiple areas, such as healthcare diagnosis, fraud detection and public service delivery. As we will see in this post, usage of AI, particularly algorithms, is not novel in public policy or in social protection and tends to increase (Benoit 2024). The wider acceptance of AI and general utilization of algorithms in public policy serves as the main point of contention. On one hand, as datasets are more widely available, improvements in generative AI take place, and stakeholders are further incentivized into using these tools (Ohlenburg 2020, Benoit 2024). To this end, efficiency is a major objective in using AI, notably on improving the usage of public resources (Murray 2024). On the other hand, efficiency usually comes at a cost, with risks at multiple fronts, be it on transparency or ethics (Bennoit 2024, Vredenburgh 2024), inclusion challenges (Considine et al 2022), among others. Based on this background, we briefly present how AI is (can potentially be) used in social protection, with a focus on automated decision-making. Next, we discuss the risks of exclusion of the most vulnerable, accompanying mitigation measures and good practices. Artificial intelligence
What Does a Good Digital Welfare State Look Like? pmassetti Institute of Development Studies (17.12.2024) The introduction of ‘digital-by-default’ welfare and social protection systems in the UK and beyond has delivered efficiencies and cost savings for governments and can be convenient for recipients. But, given the rapid pace of change, we need to understand the ethical, social, and political implications of digital welfare from the perspectives of the poorest and most marginalised members of our societies. In the face of a growing body of research on these communities’ challenges in accessing their entitlements, this briefing looks at what a ‘good’ digital welfare state might look like. Our research shows the need for systems which are designed to treat people with care and dignity, inclusivity, adaptiveness, and transparency. Digital welfare systems need to work for the hardest to reach first. In the words of a workshop participant: ‘a good service makes you feel trust in the service itself, the platform, and the government’. E-services united kingdom
Prepare now: Europe must get ready for the coming long-term care surge pmassetti bruegel.org (23.01.2025) Demographic change and ageing populations in European Union countries will impact many aspects of the economy and have a direct effect on long-term care (LTC) systems. Demand for LTC already exceeds supply in many EU countries, leading to the ‘care gap’. This gap is expected to widen, threatening quality of life for the elderly, exacerbating gender disparities and imposing significant economic costs. The root causes of the gap include demographic shifts, inadequate public investment, workforce shortages and a heavy reliance on informal caregiving. Women stand to lose the most if no steps are taken to prepare LTC systems for the coming surge in demand because care, both formal and informal, is predominantly provided by women. The care gap can be reduced by either increasing the supply of care or by reducing the demand for care. We assess LTC reforms in five EU countries and explain how these can affect the care gap by influencing demand and supply. Long-term care Europe
How Jharkhand is setting a precedent for universal social security in India: where there’s a will… pmassetti Development Pathways (27.01.2025) Who would’ve guessed that one of the boldest moves in designing social security benefits would come from—not even a country—but a state in India called Jharkhand? For those unfamiliar, Jharkhand is one of India’s poorest states,¹ nestled in the country’s eastern region, often making headlines for its mineral wealth rather than groundbreaking social policy. Yet here we are, talking about Jharkhand as the unlikely pioneer of what can only be described as a “‘Semi-UBI”: a universal basic income, but just for women aged 18 to 50. The recently revamped and relaunched Maaiya Samman Yojana is a universal, tax-financed social security benefit provided to all women in the selected age group across the state.² Simple as that: no complicated targeting mechanism or elaborate eligibility criteria, just a source of financial assistance that will be easily accessible to a high proportion of the female population. The central objective of the benefit is to empower women and improve their socio-economic conditions.³ It’s mainly aimed at mothers (which is why women of reproductive age were chosen), providing much-needed support in a state where life is far from easy for most families. Universal Social Protection, universal-basic-income india
Bringing Rwanda’s social protection practices onto the global stage pmassetti worldbank.org (Over the past two decades, Rwanda has transformed from a nation rebuilding after tragedy to a global example of economic inclusion. Its impressive 5% average annual per capita GDP growth since 2006 tells part of the story, but economic growth is just one piece of the puzzle. The real story lies in how this growth has touched lives, especially the most vulnerable, through initiatives like Gira Wigire, which means"to have dignity" in Kinyarwanda. poverty Extension of coverage, Social policies & programmes rwanda
India: Will Budget 2025 extend benefits like social security to gig workers? pmassetti business-standard.com (21.01.2025) While the new Code on Social Security 2020 defines ‘gig and platform’ workers and outlines various welfare measures like life and disability insurance, accident insurance, health and maternity benefits, and old-age protection, its non-implementation implies that millions of gig workers remain without any protection.   Labour Lawyer B C Prabhakar says that since the new labour codes are not yet implemented, it is pertinent that the government comes up with a holistic framework for the welfare of this bulging workforce in the upcoming budget. digital platforms Platform workers india
Three challenges of social protection in sub‐Saharan Africa: informality, climate change and pandemics pmassetti International Journal of Social Welfare (2025) This article provides an overview of social protection challenges in sub-Saharan Africa. It explores three main challenges: the integration of informal workers, the management of climate change and pandemics. Despite the proliferation of social protection programmes in sub-Saharan Africa, effective coverage remains low. About 76.3% of the population is not covered by any formal social protection mechanisms. Following the principle of qualitative comparative analysis, this article offers a twofold contribution. Firstly, it provides an overview of the diversity of social protection mechanisms in sub-Saharan Africa. This article proposes to describe the three categories of social protection using the concept of social protection mix: formal, semi-formal and informal. Secondly, using this concept, this study explores three major challenges of the social protection mix in sub-Saharan Africa. Finally, this article suggests ways to strengthen social protection systems that address new challenges and incorporate the diversity of social protection mechanisms. Africa