Structural elements of social protection schemes: coverage, financing methods, types of benefits and models of social protection

Abstract

This article seeks to offer. instead of a chronological or constitutional perspective (which are generally the beginning of the examination of social protection schemes) an approach to their fundamental structural elements, in order to understand their objectives and what are the possible ways to legally architect an institutional mechanism capable of reach them. To this end, it deals with the main parameters for measuring the objectives of a scheme (personal, material and financial coverage), as well as the possible forms of structuring (financial scheme and type of benefits). It then describes how these alternatives are traditionally used in the most common legal formats of social protection regimes, both non-contributory (social assistance, universal schemes and universal basic income schemes) and contributory (basic and complementary). Finally, it reflects on the need to combine these different formats to organize a protective system based on multiple tiers and capable of achieving economic security for different sectors of society.