Valerie Frey
Raphaela Hyee
Pablo Minondo Canto
Modernising Access to Social Protection
Strategies, Technologies and Data Advances in OECD Countries
3. National frameworks to identify potential beneficiaries and integrate them into social protection
Abstract
This chapter presents case studies of national strategies to expand the coverage of social benefits and services in six OECD countries: Ireland, Spain, Chile, Belgium, France and Estonia. It provides an overview of the approaches countries are taking to identify those in need of benefits and services, including the type of data they employ. It also discusses ways countries are using linked administrative data and social registries to ease the bureaucratic burden on claimants of social benefits and services to increase take‑up.
Key findings
At least 29 OECD countries have implemented national strategies to expand the coverage of social benefits and services through better identification of potential beneficiaries. This chapter presents a descriptive overview of the mechanisms (governance frameworks, data, and analytical tools) that six OECD countries – Belgium, Chile, France, Estonia, Ireland and Spain – are using to identify individuals in need of social benefits and/or services. These countries were selected to illustrate a diversity of approaches.
National data‑informed strategies against poverty or social exclusion aim to increase the reach of social protection for vulnerable groups. They often include an explicit target of minimising non-take‑up among likely potential beneficiaries. However, the availability of administrative and survey data to identify vulnerable population groups varies across countries.
These strategies take a range of approaches. Some countries, like Ireland and Spain, have taken what might be considered a more traditional approach to identifying vulnerable groups and regions in need of social programmes, based on probabilistic estimates of (usually de‑identified) survey and administrative data. Once coverage gaps are identified, the policy response casts a wide net, including better communication and investment in new programmes. Public outreach and communication campaigns frequently target a particular benefit, a specific disadvantaged group or geographic area.
Belgium, Chile, Estonia and France are increasingly linking different data sources to enable the analysis of social benefit eligibility at the individual level, and Spain is taking a step in this direction with the continued roll-out of its Digital Social Card. While these data-linking systems still risk missing people who live largely or completely outside of the social protection system – e.g. undocumented residents or people experiencing homelessness – they can help to increase social protection coverage.
Data linking can 1) be used to measure non-take‑up; 2) help close information gaps (e.g. eligible households can be contacted directly and encouraged to apply) and 3) lower the administrative burden on claimants (e.g. by pre‑filling information from administrative sources). In a few cases, eligible individuals or households can even be auto‑enrolled into social benefits. These individual-level interventions are sometimes combined with broader outreach to specific groups or regions, as in the case of the “zero non-take‑up territories” strategy in France.
While governments are increasingly investing in improving social protection coverage and reducing non-take‑up, only a few careful evaluations exist on the causal effects of these interventions. Embedding evaluation strategies into programmes to improve take‑up of social benefits and services is key to understanding outcomes and improving cost-effectiveness.
3.1. A diversity of approaches to reach people in need
A critical foundation of any government effort to improve social protection coverage and delivery is the identification of those who need – and are likely eligible for – benefits, based on pre‑defined eligibility criteria. In other words, among people who should be covered by social protection schemes, who has been missed? OECD governments have addressed this identification challenge with different approaches and degrees of intensity.
This chapter explores the distinct national strategies of six OECD countries: Belgium, Chile, Estonia, France, Ireland, and Spain. The strategies are relatively advanced and rely on sophisticated, national-level, cross-government data collection and analysis. They aim to: 1) identify vulnerable individuals and groups using novel data and technology; and 2) integrate those who are not already covered by adequate social services and benefits into the relevant social programmes for which they are likely eligible.
The six case studies set out in this chapter were selected following a desk review of national strategies to expand the reach of social protection. Of the at least 29 OECD countries with dedicated national frameworks to expand social protection and reduce non-take‑up, these six countries were selected to illustrate diverse approaches.
These national frameworks were often developed following intensive consultation with stakeholders and an identification of priority issues and marginalised groups. They seek to further integration across ministries and levels of government and often take a “step-wise” approach to database/registry development, linkages across agencies, and then facilitating the enrollment of potential beneficiaries.
The six national strategies vary in their approach. Ireland, for example, has invested heavily in the more traditional, probabilistic approach that many OECD countries use to identify vulnerable groups and regions that are inadequately covered by social programmes and benefits: the use of de‑identified survey and administrative data to analyse gaps and identify priority groups for social protection outreach. This is similar to the approach of Spain (Section 3.3) and other OECD countries such as New Zealand and Australia (Chapter 4). With this approach, targeted groups (e.g. young people) or geographic areas (e.g. disadvantaged regions or communities) can be identified as a priority for outreach for existing or new benefits. Lithuania, for example, links survey and administrative data to create a ranked index of municipalities on outcomes like poverty in a given year (Chapter 4).
A national inclusion strategy based on de‑identified data has some advantages. It can reduce issues of data privacy and consent around the use of (potential) beneficiaries’ personal information (Chapter 5). It can also provide reliable information on systemic inequalities between groups or geographical areas (e.g. lack of access to the internet) to help mitigate unequal enrollment in key social programmes.
This approach can go a long way towards identifying people who are not yet in the social protection system, but many of the usual barriers to non-take‑up remain, even when governments understand better which groups suffer from low coverage. A lack of information, complex information, transaction costs and social stigma can still deter potential beneficiaries from applying (and renewing enrollment) in programmes for which they are eligible (Chapter 2).
Other countries are advancing social protection frameworks using digitalised approaches to 1) identify potential beneficiaries and 2) facilitate their enrollment in social programmes using linked datasets and social registries. This entails linking different microdata sources to enable individuals that are eligible for social benefits to be identified. Governments can then notify households about their eligibility for social programmes and simplify the application process (e.g. pre‑fill information from administrative registries in claims forms, or suggest claiming an additional benefit with similar entitlement criteria). In some cases individuals or households can even be auto‑enrolled into programmes.
While systems based on linked administrative data still risk missing people who live largely or completely outside the social protection system (e.g. those experiencing homelessness), they can facilitate the enrolment of individuals and households into benefits for which they are eligible. They can also enable analysis of the prevalence of non-take‑up which can be used to identify priority geographic areas or groups in need of broader outreach.
The following sections present these case studies with an overview of how and when the framework was developed; how the relevant ministries identify target populations; the policy objectives in terms of programme enrollment and service/benefit delivery; and what evaluations have taken place or are planned.
3.2. The Irish Roadmap for social inclusion
Ireland’s Roadmap for Social Inclusion came into effect in 2020 and has three objectives: reducing poverty, preventing the risk of poverty, and making Ireland a leading country in social inclusion in the European Union by 2025 (Government of Ireland, 2020[1]). The strategy encompasses seven policy areas, with several focus areas, or “commitments” embedded within each policy area, as well as the creation of new social benefits (see Section 3.2.2).
Employment: improving employment opportunities for the long-term unemployed and for marginalised social groups, increasing efforts to reduce non-take‑up of social benefits to aid the transition from welfare to work through better communication (see Section 3.2.2).
Working conditions and families: strengthening regulations of employment conditions, ensuring a fair minimum wage in line with Ireland’s socio-economic context, and supporting low-income families through free access to quality services, including education and healthcare.
The elderly: linking pensions to wages and inflation rates,1 establishing a pension rates commission, and providing long-term care support.
Family and child support: increasing payments for families and introducing novel family support schemes, e.g. the development of an Early Learning and Care programme in local areas with a high incidence of children at risk of or living in poverty, and waiving fees to see to General practitioners for children between the ages of six and twelve.2
People with disabilities: reorganising the structure of disability-linked welfare transfers. This includes maintaining certain benefit concessions (for instance, travelling passes) if taking up work and facilitating the retention of the medical card by increasing earning thresholds.
Inclusive communities: maintaining all Ireland-specific protection schemes and services after Brexit, specifically, ensuring reciprocal welfare benefit entitlements between northern and the Republic of Ireland, the Island travel free schemes,3 and healthcare and education access after Brexit (Government of Ireland, 2020, p. 65[1]).
3.2.1. Identification of the target population: targets and indicators in the Roadmap for Social Inclusion Plan
The Roadmap for Social Inclusion was designed following an open consultation process between public authorities, people experiencing poverty and social exclusion, and organisations working with these groups (Government of Ireland, 2020[1]). The strategy has a number of targets and performance indicators based on European Union (EU) metrics as well as national metrics. Table 1 lists some quantitative EU targets and indicators characterising the target population and the progress toward their achievement. These are drawn from the EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) survey. Table 2 follows suit with national targets that are drawn from Ireland’s Central Statistics Office (CSO). The roadmap also includes broader targets (such as income distribution, housing quality, or education), that are not listed.
Table 3.1. Some EU targets, indicators, and progress: Rodmap for Social Inclusion 2020‑25
Note:
* The at risk of poverty or social exclusion (AROPE) indicator is the share of individuals who are in at least one of three situations (Eurostat, 2021[2]): 1) severe material and social deprivation based on seven items essential for adequate living (e.g. not being able to pay unforeseen expenses); 2) at risk of poverty (income below the poverty threshold of 60% of the national equivalised income) and 3) living in a low work intensity household (working-age household members work for a combined of 20% or less of their potential working hours over the year).
Source: (Government of Ireland, 2020[1]), Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020 - 2025 and (Government of Ireland, 2023[3]), Mid-term Review of the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025.
Table 3.2. Some national targets, indicators, and progress: Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020‑25
Notes:
*Consistent poverty rate is defined as people at risk of poverty and experiencing enforced deprivation. At risk of poverty: an income (after social transfers) below 60% of the median nominal income (CSO, 2022[4]). Enforced deprivation is defined as lacking at least two of eleven items, including lacking the capacity to afford new clothing or not being able to afford meat, chicken, fish, or the vegetarian alternative every two days (CSO, 2023[5])
**Covering an array of disabilities ranging from blindness and deafness to physical intellectual, as well as emotional disabilities (CSO, 2016[6]).
Source: (Government of Ireland, 2020[1]), Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020 - 2025 and (Government of Ireland, 2023[3]), Mid-term Review of the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025.
3.2.2. Delivery of social benefits
The Roadmap for Social Inclusion envisions the creation of new social programmes as well as the continued delivery of existing benefits. Table 3 illustrates the most relevant novel benefits to be delivered under each policy area, the most relevant existing benefits to be continued, and their implementation status as of 2023.
Table 3.3. A snapshot of the most relevant new benefits and the continuation of programmes considered under the Roadmap for Social Inclusion
Note:
* In Ireland, five types of parental benefits exist: maternity leave, adoptive leave, paternity leave, parental leave, and parent’s leave. Maternity leave targets female employees and is up to 26 weeks long; adoptive leave targets adoptive parents and is up to 24 weeks long. Paternity leave targets the fathers of children under six months and is two weeks long; parental leave targets parents of children under 12 and is 26 weeks long; parent’s leave targets parents of children under two and adoptive parents within the first two years of adoption and it is seven weeks long (Citizens information, 2023[7]).
Source: (Government of Ireland, 2020[1]), Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020 - 2025 and (Government of Ireland, 2023[3]), Mid-term Review of the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025.
The Roadmap for Social Inclusion also includes the development of two outreach campaigns (Government of Ireland, 2020[1]): 1) a campaign to raise awareness of social benefits when taking up employment and 2) a campaign to communicate the existence of in-work income support transfers for low-income families. Both of these campaigns are yet to be delivered. As of 2023, a midterm review of the Roadmap for Social Inclusion was conducted. Progress made toward the achievement of EU and national targets are outlined in Table 1 and 2.
3.3. The Spanish National Strategy to Prevent and Combat Poverty and Social Exclusion
The Estrategia Nacional de Prevención y Lucha contra la Pobreza y la Exclusión Social 2019‑23 (National Strategy to Prevent and Combat Poverty and Social Exclusion) aims to strengthen social protection, ensure that social services respond to citizen’s needs, and support population groups experiencing poverty and social exclusion (Government of Spain, 2019[8]). It has four target areas (Government of Spain, 2019[8]):
Poverty reduction: prevent and reduce poverty, in particular among children, adolescents at risk of social exclusion and adolescents living in families experiencing poverty.
Investment in citizens: improve education, training, and employment policies to increase the employability of individuals and support individuals with difficulties accessing the labor market. This includes the development of active employment policies that strengthen co‑operation between social service providers and employers and facilitate labor mobility.
Social protection over the life cycle: Provide vulnerable individuals with access to tailored health and social services that are not only palliative, but also preventive, including health policies to support children and their families, and social services that offer housing support and as well as social and health supports for the elderly, as well as those living with a disability or health problems.
Prevention and reduction of poverty and social exclusion: Improve the efficacy and efficiency of the policies proposed in the strategy through co‑ordination and co‑operation between all relevant stakeholders. This includes ensuring territorial co‑operation (autonomous regions are in charge of education and healthcare), co‑operation and target alignment with the European Union and creating an innovative social service system that allows for social innovation and transparency.
Complementary strategies include the National Strategy against Homelessness 2023‑30, the Spanish strategy on disability 2022‑30, and the National Strategy for the Inclusion, Equality, and Participation of the Roma community 2021‑30.
In addition to the national strategy to combat poverty and social exclusion, the Spanish Government, with support from EU funds, also funds a project run by a network of European NGOs, the Red Europea de Lucha contra la Pobreza y la Exclusión Social (EAPN), that seeks to identify the reasons for non-take‑up of the new national Minimum Income Benefit (see below), and to conduct outreach and support campaigns (EAPN, 2022[9]). The project focuses on areas with high incidences of poverty. It will survey a sample of households in each of the target areas to learn more about the level of information of the new Minimum Income Benefit, whether sampled households ever applied for the benefit, about their trust in institutions and their digital skills. This survey information will be linked to administrative data on the local number of benefit claims and approvals. This should enable the analysis of reasons for non-take‑up, and the impact of interventions on the knowledge and acceptance of the benefit. Moreover, the project seeks to deliver communication campaigns and to directly support potential beneficiaries who are not taking up the benefit in the application procedure.
3.3.1. Identification of target individuals
Using 2017 survey data,4 the strategy identifies the two population groups that are most at-risk of poverty5 and hence most in need of social protection: children and adolescents under 18 and young people aged 18‑29 – almost a third of children and young adults (28%) live in poverty, compared to about 20% of those aged between 30 and 64, and 15% of those over 65 (Government of Spain, 2019[8]).
Among children and adolescents under 18, those whose parents were born outside the European Union have the highest poverty risk (65%, compared to 22% for children born to parents born in Spain). Young children (under four years old) of Spanish residents born outside the EU are even more likely to live in poverty (74%). Children living in single parent households or in large families (with three or more children) also have an elevated poverty risk (40%). Looked after children is an additional special target group of the strategy.
Young people aged 18 to 29 are more likely than other age groups to report that they have difficulties to make ends meet: 58% compared to 51% for those aged 50 to 64, and 48% for those over 65 (Government of Spain, 2019[8]). Young people who only completed compulsory education are more likely to live in poverty (44%) than those who have attained an upper secondary degree (26%) or post-secondary education (16%). Young people are more likely to live in poverty than older age groups for any given level of education, work intensity, or housing status (owning vs. renting a property). Young people living in poverty are more likely than their peers to perceive their health as poor; this effect is stronger than among older age groups.
3.3.2. Policy objectives
Based on the identified target population, the strategy has 13 objectives divided over the four main target areas. While the strategy includes a total of 85 policy commitments, the commitments most relevant to the expansion of social protection are:
Poverty reduction: the strategy seeks to improve income security. Spain introduced a new national Minimum Income Benefit (MIB), the Ingreso Mínimo Vital (IMV) in 2020, against the backdrop of the COVID‑19 emergency. It provides a common minimum income floor across Spain, with benefit amounts depending on household size and composition. Before the introduction of this new national benefit, social assistance benefits provided by the autonomous regions differed significantly in generosity and accessibility, and there is still considerable variation in social service delivery across regions (OECD, 2022[10]; OECD, 2023[11]). To increase take‑up of the benefit, the Spanish Government has initiated several active outreach campaigns, e.g. an information bus touring municipalities across the country (AIREF, 2023[12]). Using administrative data from late 2022, the Autoridad Independiente de Responsabilidad Fiscal (AIREF), the Independent Fiscal Accountability Authority, estimated that around 35% of all eligible households were benefiting from the new minimum income benefit.
Furthermore, the minimum wage, which is indexed to inflation, has been increased five times since the strategy was implemented (La Moncloa, 2023[13]). However, despite these increases, real minimum wages fell by over 6 percentage points between January 2021 to September 2022, compared to 1.5 percentage points across the OECD on average, 4 percentage points in Greece, 0.2 percentage points in Portugal, or a slight increase of 1.5 percentage points in France (OECD, 2022[14]).
Investment in citizens: the strategy proposes the creation of new scholarships and educational supports that guarantee that individuals from low-income households can afford their education, from the primary to the tertiary level. The strategy also seeks to improve employment opportunities for vulnerable groups (including Roma people and people with disabilities) through better co‑operation between social service providers and employment services, as well as the incorporation of vulnerable groups in the design of active labour market policies (Government of Spain, 2019[8]).
Social protection over the life cycle: the strategy includes a policy target to create affordable school canteens, as well as a policy target of enhancing the Social Services Users Information System, a databank for social workers, that keeps track of all interventions / contacts clients have with social workers, as well as client characteristics. Moreover, one of the targets is to increase public housing supply, provide rent support through transfers for vulnerable households and introduce direct subsidies to acquire a property.
Efficacy and efficiency: Encourage active participation of officials from the federal government as well as from the autonomous regions in all European forums and working spaces that deal with poverty reduction. Include civil society organisations in the design of poverty prevention policies by creating and strengthening dialogue platforms between civil society organisations and public authorities, e.g. the Commission for Civil Dialogue with the Third Sector. Create statistical tools that can detect situations of vulnerability and help to co‑ordinate support policies across public agencies.
A key statistical tool is the Tarjeta Social Universal (Universal Social Card). Created in 2018, it was further developed and ultimately renamed Tarjeta Social Digital (TSD, or Digital Social Card) in 2021 (Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, 2023[15]). The card collects information on all public benefits and services citizens are receiving, either at the federal-, autonomous region- or the local level. For individuals receiving a household level benefit – such as the MIB Ingreso Mínimo Vital – the card also contains information on other members of the household. Service providers at the three government levels feed the databank with administrative data on benefit and service receipt, and the information is accessible to both citizens and public authorities. This allows institutions at all levels of government to see what other support any claimant is receiving. The TSD also allows the production of aggregate data on benefit receipt for different needs groups (e.g. the unemployed, people with disabilities etc.), which can support the co‑ordination of social benefits and services across levels of government. As of 2023, the TSD is still being rolled out across autonomous regions and municipalities. Once roll-out is completed, the TSD should be able to support the enrolment, and even automatic enrolment, of individuals into specific programmes.
The card is accessible online or through a mobile app using a personal identification number, or in the offices of the social security or national tax agencies (Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, 2023[15]).
3.3.3. Evaluation
An evaluation of the strategy is planned at the end of the implementation period in 2024. The evaluation will benchmark quantitative indicators, including the at risk of poverty rate and the AROPE indicator against the policy targets outlined in the strategy. It will also look at the cost effectiveness of the strategy’s policy measures. This benchmarking exercise will be complemented with qualitative methods such as expert interviews and workshops to assess the impact of social integration efforts.
3.4. The Chilean Social Information Registry
Chile’s Registro de Información Social (RIS) (Social Information Registry) is an overarching registry of socio-economic and administrative data on individuals and households managed by the Ministry of Social Development and Family (MDSF) (MDSF, 2023[16]), with an estimated coverage of 98% of the population of Chile. Administrative information comes from governmental institutions and public and private social service providers, e.g. the Ministry of Education, the Chilean Pension Supervisor System, the Institute for Agricultural Development, and the Ministry of Housing and Urbanism (MDSF, 2023[16]). Its objective is supporting relevant institutions in the identification of citizens who are eligible for social benefits and to facilitate the delivery of such benefits. It is also used for research purposes (MDSF, 2023[16]).
The RIS was created in 2004, as a subset of a larger database called the Integrated System for Social Information (Fuchs, Medina and Silva, 2014[17]). Within the RIS, two tools have a particular focus on expanding the reach of social protection: the Registro Social de Hogares6 (RSH, Social Household Registry) and the Red de Protección Social7 (RPS, Social Protection Network).
The Registro Social de Hogares is a centralised database containing socio-economic data on households with the purpose of determining their eligibility to social benefits. It contains both self-reported data (by households) on different socio-economic conditions as well as administrative data provided by several ministries and other government agencies. These data form the base for the calculation of the Socio-economic Qualification, a socio-economic indicator at the household level, that determines the eligibility of each household for specific social benefits (Section 3.4.2).
The Red de Protección Social is an information platform for (potential) beneficiaries. Using a unique personal identifier, service users can log onto this platform online, and see individualised service and benefit offers for eight situations of need. The platform can suggest personalised services to users thanks to personal administrative data from the Registro Social de Hogares, the National Health Insurance Fund which keeps track of the usage of medical services and contains patient information, and the Civil Registry and Identification service, containing personal information such as marital status, address, or age (Section 3.4.1).
3.4.1. Identification of target individuals within the Registro de Información Social
Created in 2016, the Registro Social de Hogares merges socio-economic data from administrative registries with self-reported data. Enrollment in the Registro Social de Hogares is voluntary – individuals who want to participate complete a form containing questions like household characteristics, income, education, housing, health, and level of independence (e.g. among seniors) in the household. This can be done electronically using a personal identification number provided by the Civil Registry (ClaveÚnica), or in person. Offices of the Registro Social de Hogares exist in all Chilean municipalities, and individuals can also register at an office of Chile Atiende (a government service that contributes to the management and delivery of social benefits). Outreach workers may also visit the household, this tends to happen in remote communities (e.g. island communities) by municipal workers trying to help local residents access national benefits.
During the COVID‑19 pandemic Chile tried to facilitate access and expand the reach of social benefits through digital tools like the RSH. Over the past three years, about 75% of new enrolments were done online. To simply access the RSH, in May 2020, the requirement of having the personal identifier provided by the Civil Registry was removed (MDSF, 2020[18]). Through this measure, the national ID (RUT) was sufficient to digitally enrol in the registry and apply for the Family Emergency Income (one of the benefits provided during the pandemic). Moreover, once individuals enrolled in the Registro Social de Hogares, a public-private partnership allowed access to the webpage from which the Emergency Family Income needed to be requested without consuming any mobile data (MDSF, 2020[18]).
Administrative data used in the RSH (MDSF, 2019[19]) come from the Internal Tax Service (SII), the Superintendence of Pensions (SdP), the Unemployment Fund (AFC), the National Health Fund (FONASA), the Superintendence of Health (SdS), the Civil Registry and Identification service (SRCeI), and the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC), among others. Most dministrative information is automatically monthly; beneficiaries only have to report substantive changes in the socio-economic condition or family status that may impinge on benefit entitlement to the relevant municipal unit (in person or online). When administrative data does not align with self-reported information, however, the household can be contacted on-line or in-person.
The Red de Protección Social was established in 2021 as an information platform about social services and benefits available in eight specific situations of need: requiring a costly medical treatment, being unemployed and having difficulties finding employment, being a victim of a violent crime, experiencing difficulties finding housing, having difficulties accessing higher education, suffering from gender-based violence, having a disability, and requiring care for dependency or being a caregiver (Chile Atiende, 2023[20]).
It links cross-registry administrative data from the Registro de Información Social, the Registro Social de Hogares, the National Health Fund and the Civil Registry and Identification Service to identify social services and benefits available to specific households across 20 institutions in each of the eight situations of need (Chile Atiende, 2023[20]). The objective is to inform individuals about the benefits and services they are eligible for and how to request them. Without a personal identifier, individuals can still navigate through the existing programmes and benefits. Furthermore, they can also benefit from the platform in person in a branch of Chile Atiende, or through call centres and social media.
Coverage of RSH is high. As of 2023, the Ministry of Social Development and Family estimates that over 8.9 million households (about 86% of the Chilean population) is registered in the Registro Social de Hogares (MDSF, 2023[21]). Expert interviews with MDSF suggest that the missing 14% is principally residents without a national identification number (e.g. undocumented migrants), households living in remote communities (e.g. island communities), high-income households who have little need to apply for benefits, and newborns who have to be registered by their parents for most benefits.
3.4.2. Indicators used to identify vulnerable households in the Registro Social de Hogares
In order to identify vulnerable groups and assess their eligibility to social benefits, the Registro Social de Hogares uses a socio-economic ranking system. This ranking system classifies every household that is registered in the Registro Social de Hogares in one of seven income groups, ranging from the 40% with the lowest income and hence most vulnerable to the top decile with the highest income considered least vulnerable. The ranking follows a descendant logic and thus, households situated in the lowest 40% are entitled to a wider array of benefits than those in higher groups (Figure 3.1).
Figure 3.1. The socio-economic ranking system within the Registro Social de Hogares
Source: (MDSF, 2019[22]), Cálculo de la Calificación Socioeconómica.
To determine the group for each household, the ranking considers three variables: household income, the necessity index, and the means test.
Household income is the sum of all income from employment, pensions, and capital from every household member over 18 over the last 12 months for which data is available. This information is obtained from linking administrative data and/or self-reported data (MDSF, 2019[22]).
The necessity index builds on the income information and adjusts household income to account for household size and other characteristics, such as age or disabilities. It also accounts for economies of scale in consumption, depending on age and disability status of each household member.8 Having calculated the necessity index, a first classification of each household is made in the ranking by dividing the income variable by the necessity index score.
The means test is the last step for classifying a household in the socio-economic ranking. The means test is meant to correct assessment errors stemming from a lack of accurate income information. It determines whether a household’s income corresponds to the household’s observed lifestyle. It considers five “means of value”: the value of public and private health contributions paid by household members, enrollment of household members in private schools or universities, vehicle ownership, property ownership, and whether (adult) members of the household have parents with high income not living in the household. If the household has two means of value, the household will automatically be placed in the 61‑70% group of the socio-economic ranking; if it has three or more, it will be placed in the 81‑90% tranche (MDSF, 2019[22]).
Based on the classification on the socio-economic ranking, households are entitled to different benefits; ranging from housing, health, agriculture, education and youth to tourism benefits.
3.4.3. Delivery of social benefits to target groups
Once a household is in the RSH, there are a few ways to access benefits. The application or renewal process depends on the programme. In many cases, households must apply for any benefits they should be entitled to. The application process varies depending on the benefit, but it can either be done online using the personal identification number or in person in a branch office of the relevant agency or Chile Atiende. For some benefits with simple entitlement criteria, households are automatically enrolled – e.g. the bono por logro escolar, an educational benefit for high performing students from low-income households, as the RSH contains both information on family income and on school results.
For benefits that are provided outside the jurisdiction of the Registro Social de Hogares, the application process varies, and individuals can find information on the requirements and the application process on the Red de Protección Social.
3.4.4. Evaluations
In 2018, the Ministry of Social Development and Family identified four areas where the Registro Social de Hogares could be strengthened (MDSF, 2018[23]): First, strengthening the digital capacity of the registry. The pandemic hastened these efforts (see above) and now the vast majority of enrollments happen online. There are plans for an “ecosistema digital”, a single window for claimants containing all relevant information regarding benefit eligibility and the claims process.
Second, preserving the legitimacy and transparency of the registry. Efforts should be made to improve the quality of the administrative data that feeds into the Registro Social de Hogares, the quality of self-reported information, the quality of information contained in the application forms submitted, the capacity of the registry to accurately determine the socio-economic status of households, and the correct usage of the information contained in the registry by social service providers. MDSF reports that they are undertaking extensive efforts to clean the data and identify fictitious or mistaken information (e.g. one person or single parent households without any income, that are suspected to in fact live with other adults, and only report living separately to maximise benefit entitlement). The lack of in-person contact during the COVID‑19 pandemic has exacerbated this problem. To address it, MDSF has stepped up efforts to carry out targeted as well as random in-person checks.
Third, in 2016 a public platform was created that enabled citizens to navigate through their profile in the Registro Social de Hogares, but it did not provide information on individual social benefits receipt or entitlement. This was addressed by the creation of the Red de Protección Social.
Fourth, the information on the socio-economic characterisation of households contained in the Registro Social de Hogares should be further used to guide the design of social policy and social benefit delivery. That is, the data in the registry should be used to co‑ordinate social programmes, avoid duplicities, and address delivery gaps, but also to provide more comprehensive and tailored social benefits so that households benefit from the support that best fits their needs.
3.5. The Belgian Federal Plan to Combat Poverty and Reduce Inequalities
Belgium’s Plan Fédéral de Lutte contre la Pauvreté et de Réduction des Inégalités (Federal Plan to combat poverty and reduce inequalities) came into effect in 2022. The strategy is based on four policy pillars: 1) prevention and early detection of poverty; 2) supporting sustainable employment and access to social protection; 3) supporting social mobility and social inclusion and 4) contributing to the European Social Agenda by promoting solidarity (SPP Intégration sociale, 2022[24]).
Within the first policy pillar of prevention and early detection of poverty, the plan outlines a series of policy objectives to prevent non-take‑up of social benefits (Section 3.5.2), building on the findings of three research projects (Section 3.5.1).
3.5.1. Examining the extent and causes of non-take‑up in Belgium
The national plan draws on the results of three research projects: 1) the proposition d’actions transversales pour un plan de lutte contre le non-recours aux droits sociaux (Proposition of cross-sectional actions for a plan to combat non-take up of social rights); 2) the BELMOD project and 3) the closely related TAKE project to examine the extent and causes non-take‑up in Belgium.
The Proposition d’actions transversales pour un plan de lutte contre le non-recours aux droits sociaux was a research project conducted by Belgium’s Federal Ministries for Social Integration (SPP Intégration sociale), and Social Security (SPF Sécurité Sociale) from 2019 to 2021. Its aim was to investigate the causes of benefit non-take‑up in Belgium, and to provide strategic recommendations to prevent it (SPP Intégration sociale, 2021[25]). The project included workshops as well as consultations with relevant stakeholders, including social security agencies.
The micro-simulation BELMOD Project was funded by the European Commission and managed by the Federal Ministry for Social Insurance between 2019 and 2022. It extended a pre‑existing micro-simulation model into the BELMOD model (Federal Public Service Social Security, 2023[26]). Managed by the Crossroads Bank for Social Security (CBSS), BELMOD is based on linked administrative data from the “data warehouse Labour Market and Social Protection”, that includes information on wages and the number of beneficiaries for specific social benefits (CCC, 2023[27]). This enables the model to measure non-take‑up by imputing the statutory eligibility of households to social benefits and comparing them to the actual recipient numbers.
The TAKE project augmented the BELMOD micro-simulation model with survey data on the socio-economic characteristics of households and their knowledge of and attitude toward the four benefits that were the subject of the study (TAKE, 2023[28]). It was funded by the Belgian Science Office (BELSPO) and conducted by the Ministry of Social Security, the University of Antwerp, the University of Liège, and the Federal Planning Bureau, between 2015 and 2022. TAKE focused on four benefits: the social integration allowance (the working-age social assistance programme), the income guarantee for the elderly (the social assistance programme for those above retirement age), the increased reimbursement of healthcare (a refund for out-of-pocket healthcare costs for low-income individuals), and the heating allowance (an allowance supporting low-income households using specific types of fuel to heat their home) (Goedemé , T. et al., 2022[29]).
The TAKE project designed a survey aimed at 10 000 randomly selected low-income households identified from administrative micro-data. 2 000 households completed the survey through in-person interviews that included questions on knowledge about social benefits, and reasons for non-take‑up. Survey information also enabled more accurate estimates of benefit entitlements than administrative data alone, e.g. through data on informal employment. TAKE estimated non-take‑up to be between 37% and 51%9 for the working-age social assistance programme, between 42% and 59% for the social assistance benefit for the elderly, 65% and over for the heating allowance, and around 40‑50% for working-age people for the reimbursement for healthcare, and 17%‑32% for those over 65. The main reasons for non-take‑up are a lack of information about social benefits, the high number of different benefits, the administrative burden of claiming benefits, and psychological and behavioural barriers, including the social stigma associated with benefit receipt (Goedemé , T. et al., 2022[29]).
3.5.2. Delivery of social benefits and prevention of non-take‑up
Building on the findings and proposals made by the Proposition d’actions transversales pour un plan de lutte contre le non-recours aux droits sociaux, the BELMOD, and the TAKE projects, Belgium’s federal plan ultimately has eight policy targets to combat the non-take‑up of social benefits:
Information and communication: This entails developing a website with information on existing social benefits that is accessible (in content and language) for vulnerable population groups; creating a learning network where institutions and organisations share best practices on non-take‑up; developing a federal communication campaign that informs individuals (particularly vulnerable groups) on the social benefits that are available and that promotes the my.belgium.be website (an online resource that informs on the existing benefits at the federal level); and creating an information system that centralises data from social services providers and partner institutions (e.g. mutual insurance companies). The aim is to utilise this system to proactively reach out to and inform citizens about the existing social benefits and the assistance they can receive if they apply (SPP Intégration sociale, 2021[25]).
Incorporate nudging elements to maximise take‑up of benefits. This could include, for example, sending friendly text reminders when scheduling medical checks (which are an eligibility requirement for some benefits, e.g. the income allowance for the elderly).
Awareness and training of public servants. This includes developing awareness and training courses for social workers on poverty, social exclusion, and causes of non-take‑up (SPP Intégration sociale, 2021[25]).
Automatisation of benefit enrolment. Like an increasing number of OECD countries, Belgium is exploring possibilities of automatic benefit enrolment based on administrative data.
Belgium is exploring the possibility of using administrative data on earnings from the Ministry of Finance and/or the national health and disability insurance agency to determine individual eligibility for social benefits, including disability benefits (the income replacement allowance and the integration allowance) (SPP Intégration sociale, 2021[25]). This would enable the automatic payment of benefits. As of 2023, the National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance uses data from the Crossroads Bank for Social Security and the Ministry of Finance to identify low-income households that might be eligible for the increased reimbursement of healthcare costs. The National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance shares the data with health insurance funds, who then proactively identifies and reaches out to these households to encourage them to put in a claim for the benefit.
Not-for-profit health insurers (mutualities) should also directly inform users of their potential eligibility for social benefits – in particular the social integration allowance and the income guarantee for the elderly – and encourage them to check if they meet the criteria and apply. This would be possible given that they carry out an income test for beneficiaries of the increased reimbursement for healthcare costs (Federal Public Service Social Security, 2022[30]).
The Crossroads Bank Social Security (CBSS) created a “buffer” database containing quarterly registry information on the receipt of the most important social benefits provided by different social security institutions, including the Ministries for Social Integration and Social Insurance, as well as the Federal Pensions Service, as well as age, postcode and household composition (Federal Public Service Social Security, 2022[30]). This database is used to automatically assign the (lower) social tariff for gas and electricity: energy suppliers communicate customer information to the Federal Public Service Economy every quarter. The Federal Public Service uses this information – name, address, date of birth – to identify energy customers in the national register, and assigns each contract a social security number. These social security numbers are then communicated to the CBSS, which uses them to identify those individuals and households that receive benefits that give raise entitlement to the reduced social tariffs for gas and electricity. The Federal Public Service then informs the energy providers of the entitlement to lower tariffs.
The BELMOD project has suggested to expand the information contained in the “buffer database” with other markers of vulnerability, e.g. being in a collective debt settlement or long-term unemployed, possibly also an indicator of household income. This could enable the automatisation of some benefits at the municipal level, e.g. some cities offer a municipality pass to individuals in collective debt settlements or debt mediation.
Simplification of the claims process: Harmonise the existing legislative frameworks for income tests for different benefits under one framework. Currently, some means tests take into account gross taxable income, while others take into account all income (including e.g. other social benefits) to assess benefit eligibility. This makes it more difficult to understand for claimants if they would be eligible to other benefits (Federal Public Service Social Security, 2022[30]).
Monitoring non-take‑up: Link socio‑economic household data from the EU statistics on income and living conditions survey (EU-SILC, e.g. savings or benefit receipt) and administrative data contained in the BELMOD model (from the Crossroads Bank of Social Security, e.g. earnings) to more effectively monitor non-take‑up (Federal Public Service Social Security, 2022[30]).
3.6. Two national strategies in France
There are two national strategies to prevent non-take‑up of benefits and expand the reach of social protection in France. The Stratégie Nationale de Prévention et de Lutte contre la Pauvreté (National Strategy for the Prevention and Fight Against Poverty) and Solidarité à la Source (Solidarity at the Source) reforms are programmatic policies to prevent non-take‑up. These entail extensive data linking across social protection agencies, targeted outreach to (potential) individual beneficiaries based on information gathered in administrative databases, and also the novel strategy of bringing everyone into the social protection system through targeted “zero non-take‑up territories” through intensive community outreach.
3.6.1. National Strategy for the Prevention and Fight Against Poverty
The Stratégie nationale de prévention et de lutte contre la pauvreté was in place between 2018 and 2022. It was divided into five thematic areas (children and education, health, social rights, housing, and employment) and included 35 policy targets, including the prevention and reduction of benefit non-take‑up (Ministry of Solidarity and Health, 2018[31]).
To combat the non-take‑up of social benefits, the strategy proposed to simplify benefit access by strengthening data exchanges across public agencies, specifically information on the monthly incomes of employees. Currently, the Caisse nationale des allocations familiales (CNAF, National Fund for Family Allocations), that administers a number of family and social benefits, does not have access to this data. The strategy includes the goal to grant regulatory access for CNAF. Data mining techniques should then be able to identify individuals and households who could be entitled to social benefits from the linked administrative data. These households could then be contacted by text message, e‑mail or telephone to encourage them to claim the benefit (France Stratégie, 2022[32]).
A data mining model has been developed for two benefits: the Prime d’activité (an in-work benefit for low-wage workers) and the Allocation de soutien familial (a lone parent benefit). For the Prime d’activité, 9.7% of the identified and contacted potential beneficiaries requested the benefit in 2019; in 2020 this percentage dropped to 7.5% and to 5.5% in 2021, as many potential beneficiaries had already been contacted in previous years (France Stratégie, 2022[32]). For the Allocation de soutien familial, as of November 2021, nearly 49 000 people had been contacted by phone, and 10 800 through text message. Available data suggests that around 6.8% of those contacted by phone have claimed the benefit.10
The plan also included a target to automatically collect and exchange data to assess the ongoing individual eligibility for recipients of the Prime d’activité (an in-work benefit for low-wage workers) and the Revenue de solidarité active (the social assistance benefit) by 2023. This should simplify the claims process, and improve the responsiveness of the benefit, as income data will be automatically updated, and hence potential beneficiaries will not have to declare their income every quarter (France Stratégie, 2022[32]).
The plan also envisaged the creation of local contact points to inform individuals about available benefits (accueils sociaux inconditionnels). In 2021, 95% of collectivités départementales (departmental collectivities) had a lieu d’ accueil inconditionnel that was reachable within a 30‑minute distance.
The plan also includes the creation of “zero non-take‑up territories” – local communities where governmental and non-governmental agencies reinforce efforts to prevent non-take‑up. This includes door to door campaigns, active outreach, and tailored support in the application process. By 2022, three “zero non-take‑up territories” experiments had been conducted in the Corsican city of Bastia, in the 10th district of Paris, and in the municipality Vénissieux in Lyon (France Stratégie, 2022[32]):
In Bastia, the outreach selected three housing blocks that were the target of an information campaign by post, phone and door to door contact. Eligible individuals who requested it were supported in the application process. The Vénissieux outreach established a “rights ambassador” to identify potentially vulnerable individuals in specific neighborhoods and social centres, and a “rights co‑ordinator” who was supposed to link identified individuals with the agencies delivering social benefits. Neither targeted programme has been evaluated. In the 10th district of Paris, 1 376 people were contacted and 47 received an assessment to determine their eligibility for specific social benefits. Two individuals who did not take up benefits were supported by the French Red Cross.
The plan also proposed the creation of a digital space where citizens could securely store relevant information that might be asked for accessing social benefits. As of 2022, its development was still underway.
3.6.2. The at-source solidarity reform
The “at-source solidarity” reform, initiated in 2023, seeks to improve the delivery of the benefits administered by the Caisse nationale des allocations familiales (CNAF) by 2027. The CNAF administers a total of 19 family, housing, and social inclusion benefits (CNAF, 2023[33]). The reform seeks to 1) harmonise the means tests to assess the eligibility for the different benefits (currently, some benefits use only labour income for the means-test, while others use all taxable income, including e.g. property income); 2) improve the reliability of the income information used for means-tests and automating the retrieval of income information from administrative data for continuing claims; 3) automate means tests; 4) pre‑fill claims forms with income information to simplify the claims process for claimants; 5) create a single application form for all benefits. Automatically retrieved data includes data on student status and grants from the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation (Mesri) and other educational bodies, the national statistical office, tax data as well as data on self-employed workers, as well as data on maintenance payments. These data will pre‑populate claimant forms to lessen the administrative burden on claimants, but claimants will still be able to modify the pre‑filled data, e.g. in case of changes that take place after the pre‑filled data have been acquired (e.g. changes in employment status, birth of a child etc.).
The reform envisages a step-wise implementation with a set timeline (CNAF, 2023[33]): In a first step, the improvement of the reliability of income data and the automatic retrieval of income information for the means-test will be implemented for the housing benefit only. Then, the means-test for the Prime d’activité (an in-work benefit for low-income workers) should be implemented automatically for all recipients of housing benefits. As a next step, it is planned to automatically implement the means-test for the Prime d’activité as well as the Revenue de solidarité active for recipients of all benefits administered by CNAF to determine their entitlement. By 2025, the plan is to automatically implement means tests for the Prime d’activité, the Revenue de solidarité active, and housing allowances for all individuals who are in the CNAF database (including all families receiving the general family benefit). By 2027, the goal is to have a single application form for all benefits administered by CNAF for all individuals, including for claimants who are not already in CNAF’s database.
The reform also includes experimental “zero non-take‑up territories” to be implemented between 2023 and 2026. The initiative involves 39 local authorities who will work with key actors in social service delivery over a period of three years to prevent non-take‑up. The strategy focuses on two benefits: the in-work benefit Prime d’activité and the social assistance benefit Revenue de solidarité active but other social benefits might be included (Ministry of Solidarity and Family, 2023[34]). As of 2023, the reform highlights five broad objectives of this experiment (Ministry of Solidarity and Family, 2023[34]):
Support vulnerable individuals who might not receive assistance by providing information and tailored help.
Enhance co‑ordination between public institutions and key players in the efforts to prevent non-take‑up of benefits and reduce poverty.
Strengthen practices to prevent non-take‑up within the purview of social work, e.g. through the aller-vers, that is, by proactively reaching out to individuals who might not be using social benefits.
Involve the target population in the creation and experimentation of tools to combat non-take‑up.
3.7. Estonia’s proactive government service approach
The objective of creating event-based and seamless public services – including social protection – has been put at the forefront of the Estonia’s Digital Agenda 2030 Strategy (NORTAL, 2023[35]). This strategy emphasises the use of digital technology in the design of social and economic policies (Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, 2021[36]).
The Estonia 2035 strategy advocates for the creation of a person-centred social service network: in short, individuals should be able to access social services digitally and in an automated manner, without bureaucratic and time‑consuming procedures.
3.7.1. Policy priorities
The automation of service delivery focuses on access to social benefits and services in 14 specific life situations (RIA, 2022[37]): Marriage, having a child, acquiring a drivers’ licence, being the victim of a crime, taking up vocational training, the death of a loved one, divorce, childcare, traffic accidents, retirement, acquiring a vehicle, unemployment, incapacity to work, school enrolment. It includes five policy priorities: skills and the labor market, sustainability of the nation, health, and social protection, the economy and climate, space and mobility, and state administration (Government of the Republic of Estonia, 2020[38]).
As of 2023, only family benefits and marriage services are being proactively (automatically) delivered. The automation of other benefits is still underway. Upon the birth of a child, the Population Register is crossed with data from the Tax and Customs Board to identify the parents’ income and working status (OPSI, 2020[39]). Further multi-registry data is crossed through an algorithm in order to assess parents’ eligibility for family benefits (NORTAL, 2022[40]). The parents then receive an email containing information on their benefit entitlement and on how those benefits were calculated (NORTAL, 2022[40]). If the parents want to claim these benefits, they are asked additional information, e.g. bank account data.
For marriage, couples can submit a marriage application online through the e‑population register, allowing couples to do submit any documentation (e.g. proof of non-consanguinity, age etc.) without visiting a civil registry office (Piirmets, 2023[41]). Submissions are evaluated within 30 days (Piirmets, 2023[41]).
3.7.2. Evaluations
In October 2022, NORTAL (a key partner in the development of online proactive services) assessed that there is a 91% customer satisfaction with the proactive parental family benefit service, there has been a 88% reduction in direct monthly interactions between public officials and beneficiaries, and 99.99% of registered new-borns’ files are automatically analysed to assess parent’s eligibility for parental family benefits (NORTAL, 2022[40]).
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Notes
← 1. The roadmap proposes a “smoothed earnings system” that links pension payments to average wages but increases them in line with inflation in years when average wages increase by less than inflation (Government of Ireland, 2020[1]).
← 2. In Ireland, General practitioner (GP) visit cards were cost free for all kids under the age of five until 2023; recently, this was expanded to kids between the ages of six and seven. Older children might access GPs through private healthcare plans.
← 3. Through the free travel scheme, people aged 66 and over can access all public and certain private transport services in Ireland free of charge (Government of Ireland, 2019[42]). People with a disability and people with carers might access the scheme at a younger age.
← 4. Data come from the survey on living conditions conducted by the National Institute of Statistics, the Active Population Survey, the National Health Survey, and the EU Survey on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC).
← 5. The risk of poverty is defined as living in a household with an equivalised income below 60% of the national median equivalised income.
← 6. Registro Social de Hogares - Social House Registry: https://registrosocial.gob.cl/.
← 7. Red de Protección Social -Social Protection Network: www.reddeproteccion.cl/.
← 8. E.g. each adult household member receives a weight of 0.7, a child aged 6 to 14 with a moderate disability a weight of 0.48, while an adult with the same level of disability but aged 60 to 74 would be assigned a coefficient of 0.79 (MDSF, 2019[22]).
← 9. The large interval is due to the fact that some local welfare offices take the means of a claimant’s parents or children (in addition to a spouse or partner) into account when they live in the same household, while others do not. The lower point estimate of 37% pertains to a “stricter” model where parents’ and children’s incomes are taken into account and therefore a smaller share of the population is eligible for social assistance, whereas the 51% is an upper bound where parent and child incomes are disregarded, and therefore more households are eligible.
← 10. No data is available for those contacted through text message.