These Guidelines on Actuarial Work for Social Security (hereafter referred to as ISSA-ILO Actuarial Guidelines) have been produced jointly by the International Social Security Association and the International Labour Organization.

The social security institution addresses and ensures implementation in a timely manner of the recommendations made by the operational audit and the independent expert review.

The board (if any), management of the social security institution and the actuary communicate clearly and effectively. This exchange of information improves management but doesn’t negatively impact the independence of the actuary.

The actuary complies with professional standards of any professional organization of which he or she is a member. The actuary complies with internal standards and guidelines of the social security institution, and/or institution to which he or she provides services. The actuary also follows any other guidelines relevant to the work which he or she is performing.

The challenge of extending full access to social security coverage to all those who have a right to it is an issue across all branches of social security, and permeates all institutions to various degrees. These guidelines identify administrative solutions to improve access to contributory social security programmes for populations that are difficult to cover; the so-called hard to reach.

The institution simplifies the information requirements and facilitates registration of targeted groups.

These ISSA Guidelines on Communication by Social Security Administrations provide ISSA member institutions with insights into how communication can support the core mandate of the institution. Good communication coupled with modern web and mobile-based technologies improves service quality while reducing administrative costs.

The head of the communication unit is part of the senior management team to ensure that appropriate communication support is provided to all plans, actions and decisions of the institution.

The ISSA Guidelines for Social Security Administration were prepared by the ISSA General Secretariat with the ISSA technical commissions.

The institution specifies a model connecting the main operational processes involved in contribution collection and compliance and including the information flow between processes.

The institution implements public awareness campaigns on its anti-fraud policies, based on risk profiles, to reduce evasion and fraud and increase confidence in the system.

The aim of such campaigns is to inform public opinion on the meaning and social impact of contribution evasion and fraud, and on measures to counter fraud.

The selection process ensures the suitability and competence of the members of the board. The term of office of a board member and the basis for its renewal (if renewable) are clear and well defined.

Decisions of the board are applied consistently.

The accountability of the management is enhanced by internal and external systems of control.

Dynamism is the governance element of innovation or positive change, the effect of which is to henceforth improve the efficiency of an organization.

The board or management establishes the internal audit charter of the internal audit unit. The charter sets out the nature, role, responsibility, status and authority of the unit and outlines the scope of its work.

There are many areas to be addressed in enforcing the prudent person principle in the investment of social security funds. These guidelines are addressed specifically to institutions with external fund managers.

To ensure a competent, dynamic and dedicated workforce, the board establishes policies and programmes that provide for the continual development, upgrading of skills and training of staff.

The institution defines a single, integrated framework for ICT governance that establishes responsibilities and duties at the highest levels.

The framework fosters the application of the ISSA Guidelines on Good Governance and ICT-related principles as defined in international standards.

The institution implements a service desk to provide a single, central point of contact for all users, enabling them to request standard services, and to provide information about services and procedures for obtaining them.

This section of the guidelines provides a high-level reference point for the management of information security and privacy in social security institutions. The eight guidelines which follow form a starting point from which institutions can develop their own policies and plans, and will assist in addressing the challenges of information security through a consistent and standards-based approach. They are also intended to raise awareness of the security risks to information assets and to indicate how to deal with them.

Social security operations and strategic decisions are based on the mission-critical availability of data related to the individuals and stakeholders involved in social programmes managed by institutions. As a consequence, the reliability of these operations and adjudications are based strongly on the reliability of the used data. Among the large volumes of data managed by social security institutions there is a key subset that is common to social programmes, and its quality and management have a strong impact on the overall activities of social security institutions.

The institution carries out ICT operations to enable the use of the master data system in compliance with the corresponding service-level agreements (SLAs).

The institution continuously monitors the availability and performance of the master data systems. Interruptions and malfunctioning of the master data systems should be prevented by setting up alarms that would warn the ICT team of an SLA violation (i.e. event, incident or problem).

The institution implements an authentication model to identify, authenticate and sign digital transactions between institutions participating in the international agreement.

This model replaces the handwritten signatures used in paper-based transactions and enables validation of the authenticity of the data exchanged.

This part of the guidelines considers the principles underlying the structure, mechanism and processes put in place in the investment of reserve funds. These principles should form the initial building blocks of an investment governance process. They set down the investment beliefs and the missions and goals which underlie any investment process. These principles should be regularly reviewed to ensure that the ensuing investment process correctly reflects them and takes them into account, as they underpin the structure and mechanism put in place.