Possibilities for Sustainable Financing of Estonian Social Security System
The aim of the research was to assess the long-term sustainability of the current Estonian social security system and analyse potential policy changes in order to initiate a debate in the society concerning the need for and the content of changes. The report systematically describes the impacts of 55 individual policy scenarios on financial and social sustainability in different areas of social security.
The project is focused on the social security system: the financing of the system, the mechanisms for alleviating risks and the possibilities for influencing people’s behavior through regulative measures. The examined social risks include ageing, unemployment, illness and incapacity for work (the risks involved with the birth and raising of children are not examined). The alternatives for alleviating the risks are primarily analysed in the context of the current social security system, the possibilities of employing private insurance and savings accounts as alternatives are considered regarding some subjects.
This research is not a typical problem-solution research. It is rather an impact analysis prepared to consider the several various aspects of the sustainability of social security. In other words, it is a toolbox for the sustainability of social security – an overview is given which problems can be solved with specific policy scenarios, but no clearly defined opinions are presented on which specific changes should be made to solve the current and forecasted problems.
The research was commissioned by the Ministry of Finance in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Estonian Health Insurance Fund, the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund, the Estonian Insurance Association, the Bank of Estonia, the Estonian Trade Union Confederation and the Estonian Employers’ Confederation.
Project full report (in Estonian).
