Palgrave Pivot Navigating Social Security Options

From the Back Cover  "A very useful enrichment of the social security discourse, this book offers a great checklist from a social law perspective and is of interest  to all social scientists.” – Robert Holzmann, Fellow of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, and Honorary Professor,  University of New South Wales, Australia   “A most useful, original and enlightening book in which Pieters, one of the most prominent experts in this field, tackles the main challenges faced by Social Security systems, offering all the key aspects that policy choices should carefully take into account.” – Borja Suárez, Director General for Social Security, Spanish Ministry of Labour, Migrations and Social Security, and Professor, Universidad Autónoma Madrid, Spain  “This book steers the reader away from the common, one dimensional, cost reduction driven analysis of social security, into an understanding of the assumptions behind existing social security systems.” – Chris Gibbon, Independent Consultant and former Vice President and Worldwide Leader of the Global Social Security Business, IBM.This book explores a variety of social risks and possible policy options that could be put in place to either prevent, or lessen the negative consequences of their materialisation. Pieters groups these policy issues into four major social risks -- income replacement in case of old age and survivorship; unemployment; incapacity for work; and social health care protection – all of which are crucial to the development of a social security system. Navigating Social Security Options draws on extensive knowledge of various national social security systems to compare their costs and benefits, taking into account both their structural elements (conditions of work, education and living), and cultural elements (influence of political parties, trade unions, employers’ organisations, traditions). As a concise comparative point of reference, this book will be an invaluable resource for students and scholars of social policy and law, as well as policy makers. Product Description This book explores a variety of social risks and possible policy options that could be put in place to either prevent, or lessen the negative consequences of their materialisation. Pieters groups these policy issues into four major social risks -- income replacement in case of old age and survivorship; unemployment; incapacity for work; and social health care protection – all of which are crucial to the development of a social security system. Navigating Social Security Options draws on extensive knowledge of various national social security systems to compare their costs and benefits, taking into account both their structural elements (conditions of work, education and living), and cultural elements (influence of political parties, trade unions, employers’ organisations, traditions). As a concise comparative point of reference, this book will be an invaluable resource for students and scholars of social policy and law, as well as policy makers. About the Author Danny Pieters is Professor at the Law Faculty of KU Leuven University, Belgium, and former President of the Belgian Senate.