social insurance

noun

|Updated on: 10 Aug 2018

Definition of social insurance

: protection of the individual against economic hazards (such as unemployment, old age, or disability) in which the government participates or enforces the participation of employers and affected individuals

Recent Examples of social insurance from the Web

Recently, the drumbeats for cuts in social insurance benefits have been sounding louder.

— michael hiltzik, latimes.com, "Conservatives and business leaders worried about the deficit take aim at Social Security and Medicare," 9 Apr. 2018
Most come down to a choice between some form of social insurance, as in Japan and Germany, or getting more people to pay for care themselves.

— The Economist, "Theresa May’s lacklustre plan for the NHS," 21 June 2018
Once implemented, these types of social insurance policies have little to no negative impacts on employers.

— alan barber, Fortune, "Ivanka Trump’s Paid Leave Policy Would Be Disastrous. Here Are Some Better Options," 15 June 2018
In Jordan, businesses must register with the ministry of industry and trade and have a business license from their municipality to operate formally, be taxed and receive social insurance benefits for employees.

— allison spencer hartnett, Washington Post, "Can Jordan’s new prime minister reform the government?," 13 June 2018
As this year’s topic, the students were tasked with analyzing the sustainability of a long-term care social insurance system.

— erika rose, Post-Tribune, "IU Northwest actuarial science students reach finals in international competition," 7 June 2018
Our social welfare system is, in effect, a system of social insurance.

— kwame anthony appiah, New York Times, "Is It O.K. to Surprise Someone With a Negative Reference?," 31 Jan. 2018
In his perfect world, Republicans would run on tax cuts, carry out deep cuts to social insurance programs, and everyone in America would be devouring editorials from The Wall Street Journal.

— jonathan chait, Daily Intelligencer, "Fanatic, Fraud, Factotum: The Rise and Fall of Paul Ryan," 11 Apr. 2018
After the income tax, the most important revenue raisers are for social insurance, such as Social Security and Medicare.

— laura saunders, WSJ, "Top 20% of Americans Will Pay 87% of Income Tax," 6 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'social insurance.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of social insurance

1890

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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Law Dictionary

social insurance

noun

legal Definition of social insurance

: insurance of the individual against certain hazards (as unemployment, old age, and disability) that is undertaken, facilitated, or enforced by government