Social security organizations need to adapt to better respond in the digital age

27/03/2020 10:42 PM


Nowadays, digital technology has entered all aspects of life and tends to continue to increase its impact in the coming years and open up exciting new opportunities to improve people's lives if we know how to use them wisely, especially in the field of social security.

Digital technology shows its great potential in many activities in the field of social security such as health care, workplace safety, insurance collection and data exchange. Technology has responded to human assistance requests in a timely manner, especially the elderly who have mobility difficulties or people with disabilities, which also contributes to improving the service quality. Digital technology is also integrated with commercial services to save operating costs.

In addition to creating new needs and opportunities by connecting supply and demand with low costs, digital technology also helps reshape the labor market by creating challenges for the traditional forms of labor and the lack of linkages of the labor force.

To take advantage of this, several countries and social security organizations have been implementing long-term training and lifelong learning programs to equip prospective employees with the most appropriate skills to help them cope with job losses caused by robots and automation.

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If data is considered as the lifeblood of the digital economy, it is undeniable that data is also the lifeblood of the social security system. Through its activities, social security organizations have a large database of individuals, both contributors and beneficiaries, providing a basis for improving policy formulation and design, even forecasts on future social security requirements. However, it must be ensured that this additional convenience will bring more benefits than the risk of this data leakage.

With a view to quickly and effectively responding to these challenges, social security organizations need to adapt to better meet new needs and minimize two key risks, which are: the escalation in the gap among groups and the insurance fund decline. ISSA has identified six priority action areas in the future, including: legal assurance of employment; ensuring sustainable financial resources for the social security system; data security; people-centered; developing human resources with a long-term vision; and guaranteeing social mobility requirements.

VSS