Public finance, actuarial and statistical services

There are numerous challenges in the design, implementation and management of social protection systems related to the extension of coverage, funding sustainability, governance, the adequacy of benefits and evolving demographic and labour patterns.

The ILO provides public finance, actuarial and statistics advice to constituents by applying the principles and values of international social security standards. In this field the ILO leads work relating to the research and monitoring of global social security trends; articulates its position  on social security reform, costing and the provision of viable scheme financing options; and supports the enhancement of national institutional capacities to administer and govern social protection programmes. The ILO collects, processes and produces global social protection data through the its Social Security Inquiry (SSI) and other statistical tools. SSI is the primary information source for monitoring targets 1.3 and 10.4 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as for the preparation of the it’s flagship World Social Protection Report.

Services provided by the ILO include:
  • providing advisory services to ILO constituents relating to public finance, programme design and actuarial issues, in the context of national policies, in order to ensure the financial and economic sustainability of social protection systems;
  • developing methodological concepts, tools and actuarial models to enhance the prioritization, costing and governance of social security schemes and their application in the context of national social security reforms;
  • supporting countries to identify viable fiscal space options that will realize the financial resources required to meet the costs of new and or existing schemes, improve benefits and extend coverage;
  • providing technical support to ILO constituents to enhance their capacity to generate statistical information on the performance and impact of national social protection systems;
  • periodically updating the SSI database, developing new statistical methodologies for the collection and analysis of data, constructing benchmarks, preparing analytical reports, tutorials and materials, and disseminating statistical data;
  • providing data analysis to monitor SDG targets 1.3 and 10.4, for which the ILO Social Protection Department and the ILO Statistics Department serve as the repository;
  • leading the preparation of tutorials and materials to support national capacities to monitor SDG target 1.3 and coordinate related technical advisory support provided to constituents;
  • monitoring and documenting international trends in the area of social protection;
  • contributing to public debate on emerging issues of strategic importance relating to social security, including the setting of international standards and articulation of ILO positions;
  • developing, promoting and coordinating technical advisory services to ILO constituent members in liaison with ILO field offices, including by developing and implementing social protection and fiscal policies to maximize their impact on poverty, redistribution, employment and economic variables;
  • providing support to the ILO Global Flagship Programme on Building Social Protection for All to accelerate the delivery of technical and policy advisory services to participating countries; developing tools and methodologies in the areas of actuarial design and valuations, costing and financing, statistics and the financial governance of social protection systems; and producing country analysis reports and advocacy for priority programmes;
  • contributing to the capacity-building activities of the Social Protection Department by providing technical cooperation and establishing training partnerships with lead universities and the ILO International Training Centre in Turin as well as by developing manuals, tools and training guides on financial governance, financing, actuarial science and statistics.