Social Security

It refers to the social security system that, with the state or government as the subject, guarantees the basic rights to life of members of society, especially those with special difficulties, through redistribution of national income in accordance with the law. The basic goal of social security is to ensure labor reproduction. Social security is a product of modern industrial civilization, a protector for labor reproduction, a stabilizer for maintaining social security, a propeller for economic development, and a supporting mechanism for safeguarding the vital interests of the people, with such functions as mutual aid, risk prevention and control, and capital accumulation, etc. Social security, as a form of national income redistribution, is achieved through a certain system. China's social security is mainly composed of social insurance, social relief, social welfare, veteran benefit and placement and social mutual aid, commercial insurance and charity. Among them, social insurance is the core content of social security. Social insurance is a social security system established by the state through legislation. The purpose is to enable workers to receive economic compensation and material assistance from society and guarantee basic life when they reduce or lose their labor income due to old age, unemployment, illness, work injury, and childbirth. Social insurance are divided into pension insurance, unemployment insurance, medical insurance, work injury insurance and maternity insurance. Social relief is a social security system that the state and society provide free material assistance to low-income people living below the poverty line or disaster victims. Social welfare in a broad sense is the general term for welfare allowances, welfare facilities and social services provided by the state to improve and enhance the material and spiritual life of all members of society. Social welfare in a narrow sense is the necessary life guarantee provided by the state to the elderly, children, disabled people and other groups in society who need special care. Veteran benefit and placement is a social security system in which the state gives preferential treatment, compensation and placement to special workers and their families, such as soldiers and their relatives.

The content of veteran benefit and placement mainly includes the provision of pensions, preferential treatment allowances and subsidies, the establishment of military nursing homes and homes for disabled veterans, and the placement of demobilized veterans, etc. Social mutual aid is an activity of helping the weak and the needy organized and participated voluntarily by social groups and members with the encouragement and support of the government. Social mutual aid is voluntary and non-profit, its funds are mainly derived from social donations and voluntary payment of members and the government often supports from taxation and other aspects. The main forms of social mutual aid include mass mutual aid and mutual relief organized by trade unions, women's federations and other mass organizations, charity assistance organized by non-profit public welfare organizations, and various forms of mutual aid organizations spontaneously formed by urban and rural residents.

The social security models of countries in the world can be roughly divided into four types: national welfare, national insurance, social solidarity and accumulated savings. The social security system currently under construction in China belongs to the model of social solidarity, that is, the state, units (enterprises), and individuals jointly finance the social security scheme. This is a long-term reform trend in the future. The strengthening of personal responsibility has become the consensus of the global social security system reform. Social security is divided into three levels: Firstly, it secures the livelihood of the people economically. It is realized through cash payment or assistance, and it solves the problem of economic sources for people encountering difficulties in life. Secondly, it adapts to the changes in family structure and the weakening of self-protection functions, and meets the needs of citizens for personal life care services by providing services. Such as elderly services, rehabilitation services, and children's services, etc.

Thirdly, it provides spiritual security for those in need. Since the 16th CPC National Congress, we have adhered to the scientific concept of people-oriented, comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development, paid more attention to guaranteeing and improving people's livelihood, took new steps in the construction of social security system, and established the basic medical insurance system for urban residents and the new rural cooperative medical care system; implemented the urban and rural medical assistance system, and greatly improved the basic medical security level in the new medical reform; established the rural subsistence allowance system; continued to improve the basic pension insurance system for urban employees, and vigorously promoted provincial pooling of funds and pension accounts transfer between localities; continued to expand the scale of the pension insurance fund, and effectively achieved value preservation and appreciation; and solved a batch of historical legacy issues nationwide, such as the close-down and bankrupt state-owned enterprises’ retirees participating in medical insurance, benefits for persons suffering from past work-related injuries, and collective enterprises’ retirees participating in pension insurance. The establishment and improvement of these systems will allow more and more urban and rural residents to enjoy benefits.

In 2012, China basically achieved full coverage of the social pension insurance system, filling the long-standing system gap of the pension insurance for rural residents and urban non-employment residents, and it became a reality for everyone to enjoy pension insurance. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the social security has been strengthened. The first is to secure the basic life. Build a complete social security net in compulsory education, basic medical care, basic pension, and housing, etc. The second is to safeguard the bottom line. For some people who encounter difficulties in life due to special reasons such as illness or disaster, social assistance is required as a supplement. The third is to promote fairness. Measures shall be taken to make employment and job search opportunities fair in some areas, and allow entrepreneurs to have a level playing field. Special attention should be paid to the fairness of the starting point, namely, education equity.