Types of OECD Social Safety Nets Programs

Social Safety Nets in OECD Countries
Architecture of OECD Social Protection Systems
Types of OECD Social Safety Nets Programs

For the program practitioner, concerned about a particular type of program or policy, OECD countries provide a large number of examples or potential models (see Table 1 (13kb pdf)).  While program rules differ substantially from country to country, most OECD countries operate the following types of social transfers:

• Minimum income programs: government-provided minimum income financial assistance for people without resources.  Typically, these programs top up family or individual income up to a certain threshold set nationally or regionally.  These last-resort safety nets can have a major impact on both the extent and the intensity of financial poverty.  At the same time, the conditionality on resources, including employment income, reduces any short-term gains of attempts to escape poverty by pursuing other income sources.
• Housing benefits: support for housing-related costs of various forms including cash benefits, other financial assistance (e.g., low-interest loans) and in-kind benefits (e.g., subsidized housing).
• Family benefits (universal or means-tested): benefits directed towards families with children, with the existence of a family being the main eligibility criterion.
• Lone parent benefits: benefits to mitigate the high poverty risk for lone parent households, triggered by reduced opportunities to share bread-winning, care and other domestic responsibilities and a lower overall earnings potential.  They take the form of cash benefits or tax reductions.
• Employment-conditional benefits for able-bodied individuals: In an attempt to ensure that at least some incentive to work is maintained, many OECD countries allow benefit recipients to work a certain number of working hours without stopping eligibility or taxing the full amount of the income earned while re-entering employment.  These programs take the form of cash benefits and tax credits in the form of reduced rates on social contributions.
• Childcare benefits: financial support for families with small children requiring care is available in a multitude of different forms: direct cash benefits, tax breaks, or subsidies paid to the providing institutions.  Support may be available to all children of a certain age, or may be conditional on having children in certain types of childcare such as those provided by approved institutions or specially qualified individuals.

Please see the "Related Links" section to access information about specific SSN programs and policies in the US and selected EU countries.