The institution facilitates access to benefits and services by simplifying administrative formalities, better coordinating with other institutions and developing a clear multi-channel strategy.

The competent institutions support the mutual recognition of professional accreditations to facilitate the mobility of the labour force across countries.

The term “holistic” refers to the whole and not just selected parts of a person or system. The return to work is a complex and comprehensive process involving many stakeholders and several activities which must come together to achieve the common goal of the return to work of a person who has an occupational or non-occupational injury, disability and/or health condition. Therefore, it is important to adopt a return to work approach which is holistic, integrated and inclusive. The overall goal is to maintain the person’s work ability and existing connections to working life.

There is commitment to employee engagement – the process of getting employees involved in and building enthusiasm about their work which, in turn, will advance the interests of the institution.

The return-to-work programme takes an individual approach that focuses on the needs of the person concerned and monitors the effectiveness of its outcomes on them.

Assessing programme effectiveness requires assessment of individual outcomes, success rates and impact on the person concerned. This in turn requires an initial individual needs assessment, a person-centred action plan with performance indicators and a final assessment of the outcome(s) for the person concerned.

In all sectors of the economy, service standards are constantly improving. Social security institutions will need to respond as people demand levels of service comparable to those they receive elsewhere.

The social security institution develops a clear vision of its unique role in workplace health promotion and clarifies and builds understanding of this role through consultation.

The institution allocates adequate resources to support and implement the workplace health promotion plan.

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

A social security institution commissions on a regular basis an independent expert review of the work carried out in respect of the social security scheme valuation. The actuary responsible for the valuation fully cooperates with the independent reviewers.

A well-defined reporting process is a vital element of good governance for social security schemes. Actuarial and financial reports based on sound data, assumptions and methodology contribute to the financial sustainability of schemes. Information presented in such reports can send “early warning signals” if a scheme is experiencing difficulties; it can identify short-term and long-term trends that have a potential to make the scheme unsustainable, and, as a result, trigger public and other stakeholder consultation regarding the sustainability of the scheme.

The actuary, on behalf of the social security scheme, assists national authorities in complying with the national and international statistical reporting standards. When carrying out calculations required for the purpose of compiling national accounts, government financial statistics and/or any other national and international statistical reports, the actuary uses relevant methodology and assumptions.

The Guidelines on Actuarial Work for Social Security have been produced jointly by the International Labour Office (ILO) and the International Social Security Association (ISSA). They were written by Assia Billig and Jean-Claude Ménard from the Office of the Chief Actuary – Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, Canada, Simon Brimblecombe from the ISSA General Secretariat, and Hiroshi Yamabana, André Picard, Cristina Lloret and Anne Drouin from the ILO.

The institution establishes a strategy to identify the population groups to be covered either through in-house efforts or in partnerships with external organizations.

Social security institutions play a vital role in society. As the main point of contact between the government and citizens, such institutions help individuals in situations in which they need support and advice. Citizens must be able to know where to look for support, and to know what support is available, how to access it and what are their rights and responsibilities. Above all, the institution has to deliver on its promise if it is to earn the trust of citizens.

The communication unit and the functions it performs are essential to effective communication services.

The specific guidelines in this section are:

The institution uses communication as a strategic tool to develop a social security culture based on rights and responsibilities.

The backbone of the contribution collection and compliance system is based on certain operational processes for carrying out the key functions of contributor registration, collection of declarations, contribution calculation and billing, collection of payment and debt management. Providing online services to contributors is another key feature in the implementation of contribution collection and compliance systems.

The institution implements specific information dissemination campaigns to generate awareness of programme changes and specific information about members’ responsibilities.

The aim of such campaigns is to foster a sense of responsibility in every stakeholder about the contribution process.

Legislation, policy or decree provides for the board’s independence from political interference to implement its mandate by prescribing the selection process and by defining the grounds for removal from office solely for just cause.

Members and beneficiaries are regularly and periodically informed of their rights and privileges, as mandated by the legislation, policy or decree that establishes the social security programme.

The management ensures that it identifies the risks that the institution faces, proposes policies and measures to manage or avert these, and implements those that are approved by the board. These risks may arise in various forms, including but not limited to strategic, operational, political, economic, regulatory, geographic and demographic risks.

Suggestions to improve the institution’s services to its stakeholders are properly evaluated and, if they have merit, are submitted to the board for information or approval, before implementation by the management.

Internal audit is the central unit that undertakes independent and objective reviews of all areas of operation of the institution, and verifies and certifies compliance with all pertinent laws, rules and regulations. The scope of its work is comprehensive. By undertaking independent and objective reviews of policies, operations, systems and procedures, internal controls, risk management, information management, ICT systems and governance processes, it promotes a disciplined approach to the overall management of the institution.

The board and/or management ensure the professional safekeeping of the investment assets of the institution.