E-Government Program of the Belgian Social Security

Abstract

The Belgian social security consists on the one hand of three insurance systems (workers, self-employed workers, and civil servants), that cover a maximum of seven social risks (incapacity for work, industrial accident, occupational disease, unemployment, old age, child care and holiday pay—the so-called branches of social security), and on the other hand of four assistance systems (subsidies for the handicapped, guaranteed family allowance, minimum income, and income guarantee for the elderly), that grant people specific minimum services after checking their subsistence resources. In addition, a lot of public institutions at the national, regional or local level, or private companies entrusted with missions of general interest (e.g., energy, water, or public transport companies) grant benefits (e.g. tax or price reductions, free passes for public transport, etc.) to citizens based on their social security status. In total, about 2,000 actors are responsible for the provision of social security and social protection in Belgium. More than 10 million citizens and 230,000 employers have very frequent contacts with those actors to claim their entitlements, pr