The actuary follows the relevant actuarial standards applicable in the country in which he or she works or those set by the actuarial association(s) of which he or she is a member. If the actuary is a member of an actuarial association which has not set relevant standards, the social security institution ensures that the actuary follows the International Standards of Actuarial Practice (ISAP) recommended by the International Actuarial Association (IAA) as model standards.

In the case where internal resources are used to perform actuarial work, the social security institution maintains adequate staffing levels and provides the actuarial department with the necessary resources to ensure that tasks can be carried out effectively.

This guideline should be read in conjunction with Guidelines 49 and 51.

The institution develops a strategy to reach out to groups by taking into account their needs, characteristics and local circumstances.

The institution adopts a long-term strategy to introduce and constantly improve the coordination and portability of benefits between different schemes in the national jurisdiction as well as between schemes in different countries that have entered into bilateral or multilateral social security agreements.

The institution is aware of innovative communication technology and makes informed decisions about the use of social media in communication.

The institution provides accurate and easy to understand information on its programmes and services, through various channels.

The institution manages compliance risk and reduces non-compliance by developing proactive compliance-oriented strategies and structures.

Awareness of rights and obligations vis-à-vis the social security system, including with regard to contribution collection and compliance, plays a key role in fostering a “culture” of social security and compliance. This is particularly important where there have been historical problems of poor service, fraud or data loss.

Legislation, policy or decree defines the powers and responsibilities of the board. The powers and responsibilities of the board are clearly delineated from those of the management. There are no areas of ambiguity, dilemma or conflict of interest.

The legislation, policy or decree that establishes the social security programme normally prescribes its manner of financing and the benefits to be provided to the covered population.

Predictability refers to the consistent and uniform application of the law, including the rules and regulations to implement it. Stakeholders are generally averse to sudden or unannounced changes in contributions to and benefits from the programme. The methodical application of the programme will strengthen stakeholder confidence and support for it.

Legislation, policy or decree establishes the legal liability of the management.

Participation refers to the effective involvement of stakeholders in the institution’s decision-making process to protect their interests and to support the social security programme. It is a way of building partnership between the board and the institution’s stakeholders, allowing better policy-making, improvement of trust among stakeholders and the enhancement of transparency.

There is clarity in the line of authority and decision-making, and staff roles and responsibilities to ensure coordinated, appropriate and timely responses to the incidence of risk. There is clear understanding of the risk to be contained and the corrective measures to be implemented.

The board and management have the technical expertise to determine whether investment proposals have undergone due diligence, and act upon their determination.

People – and the talent, experience and capacities that they have – are key to an organization’s performance, resilience and dynamism. The board and management must continually ensure that the institution’s human resources policies are able to attract, develop and retain competent staff, and inspire staff loyalty to the institution. Effectively managing the institution’s human resources – hiring, compensating, retaining, training, mentoring and developing – is key to the successful governance of any organization.

The following guidelines are organized in three parts:

Part A, ICT Governance and Management, incorporates five sections:

A.1. ICT Governance

A.2. ICT Management

A.3. ICT Investment and Value Management

A.4. ICT Service Delivery

A.5. Data and Information Management

Part B, Key Technologies, incorporates three sections:

B.1. Interoperability

The institution implements electronic-based services (e-services) to improve service delivery by enabling users to interact with the institution remotely, and eventually autonomously.

Such e-services are multi-channelled, being based on different mechanisms (e.g. the Internet, mobile phones, call centres, kiosks).

The institution implements a strategy on developing information resources that fosters semantic interoperability and mainly consists of metadata systems.

Semantic interoperability concerns the non-ambiguous definition of core concepts used in the institution. It has a key impact on the success and quality of system interconnections as well as on the shared use of common information systems.

The institution evaluates the use of mobile devices for the collection of contributions and payment of benefits, taking account of the various methods of payment and technological options available.

The institution implements effective and quality-preserving interoperability mechanisms not only with other systems within the institution but also with external systems.

In addition to providing the means of interaction with other systems, interoperability mechanisms should keep track of the provenance of data obtained from other institutions.

The institution, in coordination with other participants in the agreement, implements interoperable services in accordance with the institutional model of interoperability for the implementation of international agreements.

The implementation of international agreements involves the development of a service-oriented architecture and includes the development and implementation of a set of services. These services must be properly orchestrated within a business processes model adequate to carry out the processes described in international agreements.

For these guidelines, the definition of investment governance begins with describing the key elements of a system of decision-making and oversight used to invest the assets of a fund. Thereafter, the definition extends to define investment governance as this relates specifically to the management of reserve funds of social security institutions.

Risk budget analysis is conducted to better understand the level of investment risk being taken and how it could be managed, and to determine an appropriate strategic asset allocation considering the risk budget established (as covered in Guideline 7).

Spending the risk budget enables the investing institution to determine an appropriate strategic asset allocation considering the available risk budget, investment assumptions, restrictions on investments and liabilities, and funding policy.

The investment strategy set out by the board or management is efficiently implemented.

This part of the Guidelines is concerned with establishing the national and institutional frameworks for the prevention programme to be conducted by a social security institution.