The Origins and Features of Social Security

Although the term ‘social security’ is generally associated with income maintenance and support programmes, it was noted in the introduction to this book that social policy scholars in different parts of the world have used the term in different ways. In some countries, notably the United States, it is used narrowly to refer exclusively to the federal government’s social insurance retirement programme. Similarly, in many Anglophone developing countries where provident funds are the primary form of income maintenance, social security also has a very specific meaning. On the other hand, in Europe and in many other Western nations, the term is used broadly to connote a variety of income protection programmes including means-tested social assistance, contributory social insurance, employer mandates and demogrant or universal social allowances. In several continental European countries, it also refers to health insurance. The term has an even broader meaning in many Latin American countries, referring not only to income protection but to the provision of health care, social work services and even educational and recreational facilities.