International Social Security Association

Language

This section provides practical advice on using ISSA databases. Topics covered include:

Social Security Worldwide provides access to information about social protection including descriptions of social security schemes by country; profiles of the system of complementary and private pensions, summaries of recent reforms (since 1995) by country, references to social security legislation, including, where available, the full texts of that legislation, a bibliography of literature on social protection, including the full text of ISSA meeting and conference reports (since 1999) and a multilingual thesaurus.

This material is presented using LivePublish software and consists of six databases. These are:

More detailed information about each of these databases is provided in Section 1 About ISSA databases.

Language

The databases are available in four language interfaces - English, French, Spanish and German.

This section describes each of the six ISSA databases. It sets out the structure of information stored in the database and describes the languages used in each, and whether or not there are links to information in other databases.

This database provides factual outlines of the social security systems operating in over 170 countries. Up to 2002, the information for all countries was updated at the same time every two years and was based on the scheme in operation as of 1 January of the relevant year (unless otherwise specified). From 2002, a new updating schedule has been adopted whereby one of the four main regions is updated every six months (although each individual country summary will continue to be updated every two years):

The database contains the information from the 1995 (1996 for European countries), 1997 and 1999 updates plus the most recently updated country summaries according to the above schedule.

The information is published by the United States Social Security Administration (SSA) as "Social Security Programmes Throughout the World" (SSPTW). The latest publications are also available on their web site in PDF format.

The material in the database is structured using a table of contents with the following headings:

More detail about each of these headings is set out below.

The database covers information on social security systems in operation as at 1 January for the relevant year up to and including the 1999 update. After that the information is that in operation either on 1 January or 1 July in accordance with the schedule above. Each sub-section of information includes the date at which that data was last updated.

The information is divided into four major geographic regions. These are:

A list of the countries contained in each region can be found in the Thesaurus database.

Information for over 170 countries is included in the database. These are listed in alphabetical order within the four major geographic regions.

Branch

Information on each country is divided into five branches, each representing a different area of social security. These are presented in the following order:

Each branch begins with a short section, Regulatory Framework, which provides the dates of basic laws and the type of programs.

Within each of the branches, the information is further divided into categories listed in the following order:

Depending on the branch of social security, the category: Benefits, is divided into the different types of benefits including:

(Some branches use slightly different sub-categories to those shown here).

Material is generally available in four languages (see below), each language version being  held within a separate database.

The English database is complete with all country summaries in English.

In the French database, country summaries for all European countries for 1996 are available in French. In addition, country summaries are available in French for later years for countries with which the ISSA corresponds in French. Summaries for other countries are in English.

In the Spanish database, country summaries are available in Spanish for American countries and Spain. Summaries for other countries are in English.

In the German database, country summaries for all European countries for 1996 are available in German. In addition, country summaries are available in German for later years for Austria, Germany and Liechtenstein. Summaries for other countries are in English.

General links to the Reforms and Complementary and Private Pensions databases are available. Links to the Reforms database are to entries that are more recent than the date of the Scheme Description entry and have the same Country, Branch and Category. Links to the Complementary and Private Pensions database are to entries that are the same, or later, date as the Scheme Description entry and have the same Country, Branch and Category. There is more information about using links in Section 2.6.

In addition, direct links to pieces of legislation relevant to a particular social security scheme can be found for some countries. These are called Legislation Entry No. links and, where available, are shown in the Regulatory Framework section at the beginning of each Branch.

This database provides an overview of systems of voluntary occupational pension plans and mandatory private pension schemes. The information included is drawn from various sources but is primarily provided, and verified, by members of the International Organisation of Pension Supervisors (IOPS), the Organisation for Economic Development and Co-operation (OECD) and of the International Social Security Association (ISSA). Correspondents acting other than in their capacity as ISSA or IOPS members as well as other sources used are listed below.

Non ISSA or IOPS member correspondents

Other information sources used to compile country profiles

The material in the database is structured using a table of contents with the following headings:

More detail about each of these headings is set out below.

The information is generally that which is in operation at 1 January of the relevant year. Each sub-section of information includes the date at which the information is valid. The data was last updated on January 2001.

The information is divided into four major geographic regions. These are:

A list of the countries contained in each region can be found in the Thesaurus database.

Information for 44 countries is included. The database is gradually being extended to all countries having a system of voluntary occupational pension plans and/or mandatory private pension schemes. The countries are listed in alphabetical order within the four major regions.

Information is provided on systems of voluntary occupational pension plans and/or mandatory private pension schemes. The country profiles are prepared in accordance with the ISSA guidance notes for the completion of country profiles on voluntary occupational pension plans and the ISSA guidance notes for the completion of country profiles on mandatory private pension schemes respectively. The structure of categories, sections and sub-sections differ slightly between the two guidance notes.

Information on each country is divided into nine categories, each representing a different area of voluntary occupational pension plans. These are presented in the following order:

In some cases, the information is further divided into sub-categories, each representing different aspects of the category. These are presented in the following order for the different categories:

In some sub-categories, the information is divided again and is presented in the following order for the different sub-categories:

B. Mandatory private pension schemes

Information on each country is divided into nine categories, each representing a different area of mandatory private pension schemes. These are presented in the following order:

In some cases, the information is further divided into sub-categories, each representing different aspects of the category. These are presented in the following order for the different categories:

In some sub-categories, the information is divided again and is presented in the following order for the different sub-categories:

Material is generally available in the English and French language (see below) with each language version held in a separate database in the appropriate language interface.

The English database is complete with all available country profiles in English.

The French database currently contains country profiles in either French or English, but it is intended to translate all country profiles into the French language.

Data is available only in English in the Spanish and German databases.

General links to the Reforms and Scheme Description databases are available. Links to the Reforms database are to entries that are more recent than the date of the Complementary and Private Pensions entry and have the same Country, Branch and Category. Links to the Scheme Description database are to entries that are to the same, or later, date as the Complementary and Private Pensions entry and have the same Country, Branch and Category.

Direct links to pieces of legislation relevant to a particular system of voluntary occupational pension plans or of mandatory private pension schemes can be found for some countries. These are called Legislation Entry No. links and, where available, are shown in the section on the Regulatory Framework.

There is more information about using links in Section 2.6.

This database provides summaries of important reforms in countries since 1995. Much of this information is published in the ISSA newsletter Trends in Social Security.

The information in the database is structured using a table of contents with the following headings.

Region

The information is divided into five groups including four major geographic regions and a general international classification. The regions are:

Information for over 160 countries is included in the database. These countries are listed in alphabetical order within the four geographic regions.

Descriptions of reforms are classified into nine branches, each representing a different area of social security. These are:

Some entries are classified by more than one branch. In this case, the entry will be listed in the Table of Contents by the first branch used in the classification.

Within each of the main branches, the information is further divided into categories which are listed in the following order:

Each entry describes a particular reform and includes:

All entries in the Reforms database are available in the same language as the interface being used.

General links to the Scheme Description and Complementary and Private Pensions databases are available. Links to the Scheme Description database are to the most recent entries in the Scheme Description database with the same Country, Branch and Category. Links to the Complementary and Private Pensions database are to the most recent information.

Direct links to pieces of legislation that are relevant to a particular reform can be found in some entries. These can be accessed by clicking on the Legislation Entry No. at the end of an entry.

See Section 2.6 for more information about using links.

This database provides short abstracts of social security legislation from more than 170 countries. The material covers information from as early as 1855 to the present. The information is taken from the NATLEX database produced by the ILO’s Standards Policy and Information Branch.

The information in the database is structured using a table of contents with the following headings.

The information is divided into five regions including four major geographic regions and a general international classification. The regions are:

The International classification includes entries on international social security agreements between countries and other entries which cover more than one country.

A list of countries in each of these regions is in the Thesaurus database.

Legislation from more than 170 countries is included in the database and is arranged in alphabetical order by country. Entries which are indexed by more than one country, such as international agreements, can be found under the International region in the Table of Contents. The European Union is treated as a country for this purpose and covers all European Community directives in the database.

The database covers legislation from 1855 to the present. The year used in the Table of Contents relates to the year of the legislation, which is usually found in its title.

Each entry describes a particular piece of legislation and includes:

Each entry is available in one language; either English, French or Spanish. As a result, the database in each language interface includes a mixture of all three languages. In the English, French and Spanish interfaces, the classifications, related ILO standards and the list of subjects are in the same language as the database being used. In the German database, these all appear in English.

1.4.3 Links to other databases

Links from the Legislation database to the Scheme Description and Complementary and Private Pensions databases are to the latest available entries with the same Country, Branch and Category. There are no links from the Legislation database to the Reforms database.

Unlike the databases from which information for the Scheme Description and Reforms databases are drawn, NATLEX data used in the Legislation database is not classified by Branch or Category. In order to allow cross-database searches and links, branch and category classifications have been added to the information in the Legislation database as accurately as possible. In some cases, however, the allocation of branch or category may not be precise and, as a result, some links between databases may include material not relevant to the search request. This may also affect searches with the Query all databases form using Branch or Category fields.

Links from legislation entries to other databases are shown at the end of the entry.

There are also links from the Legislation database to the full texts of legislation, where available. See section on Links to full text for more information on how to use these links.

The ISSA Bibliography database contains the bibliographical reference database (ISSDOC) of the ISSA’s International Social Security Documentation Centre (the ISSA library). ISSDOC consists of a large number of references to documents on social protection issues received by the Documentation Centre since 1991. The full text of ISSA meeting and conference reports since 1999 are also available.

References in the database are structured using a table of contents with the following headings.

More detail about each of these headings is set out below.

Type of Document

The references in the database are divided into four groups.

These classifications give at a glance an idea of the type of material contained in the document. Table 1.1  below gives more details about what documents are classified within each of these groups.

References are structured by the year of publication (the most recent being first).

Table 1.1 Classification by types of documents

Title

References are listed in alphabetical order by title. For Annual reports and statistics, the organization which produced the Annual Report is listed rather than the title which is frequently just "Annual Report".

Each reference to a document contains the following information:

References in the database are indexed using the following fields from the ISSA Thesaurus.

The branch of social security dealt with in a particular document is listed under Branch in each reference. The branches used to classify documents are listed as the first fourteen of the top level of key words in the ISSA Thesaurus. These include additional branches to those used in the Scheme Description and Reforms databases.

The countries or regions dealt with in a particular document are listed under Subject in each reference. The countries and regions used in the ISSA Bibliography are listed in the ISSA Thesaurus database.

In addition to indexing references by branch and country, key words from the ISSA Thesaurus are used to define the subject. Key words are a limited number of standardized terms by which the contents of a book or article can be described.

Documents referenced in the Bibliography are usually in one of the four ISSA working languages (English, French, German and Spanish) although some may be in other languages. The field Language of Text shows the languages of the referenced document. Also available in lists other language versions of the same document which are also held in the ISSA International Social Security Documentation Centre. Language of summary is shown where a summary is available in a language (usually English or French) different to that used for the main text.

1.5.4 Further information

Where applicable, information such as the ISSN and ISBN and, in some cases, where to obtain documents, can be found under Publication Details or Title of Periodical. Documents are available for consultation at the International Social Security Documentation Centre, R3-116 (North) in the ILO Building in Geneva, Switzerland (postal address: Case postale 1, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland).

Requests for further information or for references to documents received and referenced by the ISSA International Social Security Documentation Centre prior to 1991 (where not available in the database) can be emailed to issadoc@ilo.org or posted to the address above. The Centre is open from 9 am to 12 pm and 2 pm to 5 pm, Monday to Friday and can be contacted on telephone no. (+41 22) 799 75 55 and fax (+41 22) 799 85 09.

The ISSA Thesaurus database contains the thesaurus used by the International Social Security Association to index documents in the ISSA Bibliography database. The thesaurus, with a few minor variations, forms a sub-set of the ILO Thesaurus. It is specifically designed for indexing and retrieving information concerning social security issues and may be a useful tool for other organisations interested in using a Thesaurus to index social security material.

Key words are used to index documents to facilitate the retrieval of information. In the Thesaurus database, key words are structured into three levels. The top level describes the main aspects of social security and the next two levels provide more specific terms relating to that aspect. For example:

With the exception of the first fourteen terms at the top level which are used as Branches for searching with the Query Thesaurus form, there is no essential difference between the levels in terms of how they are used for indexing and searching.

Each key word is shown together with its translation into the other three languages. The number preceding the term is used by the ISSA and ILO Thesaurus for referencing purposes only. Many key words include a definition of the term and synonyms.

Countries

The Country section lists in alphabetical order the countries which may be in any of the databases.

The Region section lists in alphabetical order the various regions included in any of the databases and, for each region, includes the list of countries that it contains.

The Thesaurus is available in English, French, German and Spanish depending on the language interface you are using. Within each language version of the Thesaurus, translations for all the key words, countries and regions are shown. The Thesaurus is therefore a useful tool to find or check translations for a particular term, country or region.