Social Security

The need for social security appeared simultaneously with the emergence of human society . In any society, regardless of its economic and political structure, there are always people who, due to natural reasons independent of them, cannot by their own efforts acquire the source of their livelihood. These people include, above all, children and the elderly. In addition, each person who has lost the ability to work temporarily or permanently due to a health disorder can replenish the ranks of the disabled. As society develops and social ties become more complex, the reasons for a person’s need for social assistance are supplemented by those that are determined by the nature of economic relations prevailing in society, which generate unemployment , inflation , and poverty ^[1] .

Social security as a certain form of life support for people has specific historical types, since it is carried out within the framework of a particular socio-economic formation ^[2] .

Primitive Communal, Slave, and Feudal Periods

The maintenance of the elderly and the disabled under the primitive communal system was most likely carried out by virtue of custom . In a slave-owning society, there were no forms of providing slaves in old age or in the event of disability, but for veterans of military service in ancient Greece pensions were introduced; in ancient Rome, service is rewarded by the provision of land allotment ^[1] .

The feudal period is characterized by the dominance of subsistence farming , the basis of which is the family , bearing the responsibility for the material support of the elderly and the disabled. In the same period, other forms of social support appear for those who cannot work and do not have an economy , for example, charity , sanctioned poverty . State pensions are beginning to be distributed to major dignitaries , bishops , prefects, and other persons who have merits before the monarch . Thus, the pension at that time had the character of an award, and not of the type of provision for the able-bodied ^[1] .

The Formation of Social Security in Russia

Vladimir Svyatoslavich

As the Initial Russian Chronicle ( The Tale of Bygone Years ) testifies, Prince Vladimir ordered:

In 996, Prince Vladimir issued a charter ( law ), which entrusted public charity to the care and supervision of the clergy . Vladimir also cared for the creation of almshouses , strange houses ^[1] .

Yaroslav the Wise and Vladimir Monomakh

" Russian Truth " of Prince Yaroslav was the first Slavic law, which enshrined the semblance of a social program. Special care for the poor and the poor was distinguished by Vladimir Monomakh ^[1] . Historians note:

Tsarist Russia

XVI — XVIII centuries

• The decree of Ivan IV the Terrible “On alms”, in which, as an urgent measure, the task was to identify “elderly and lepers” in all cities, build almshouses for them, and provide them with clothes ^[1] .
• By decree of Tsar Fedor Alekseevich of 1682, two hospitals were built in Moscow ; those among the beggars and the wretched who could work, had to "earn their bread by work or craft for the public good" ^[1] .
• Peter I ordered the Holy Synod , the Chambers of the Office, the Main Magistrate and the governors "to start building hospitals, almshouses, orphanages, houses for charity of illegitimate babies, houses of strait for people loitering and the like." At the same time, Peter I forbade giving alms directly to those asking for alms, and by Decree of May 3, 1720 ordered all officers and lower ranks, recognized by the Military Collegium to be incapable of service due to wounds, mutilations or old age, to apply for residence in monasteries and almshouses and give them life-long maintenance ^[1] .
• Catherine II in the Manifesto of September 1, 1763, “On the Establishment of Orphanages”, indicated that the charity of the poor is the main thing for the Supreme Authority. The institution for the administration of provinces , adopted by her in 1775, for the first time in law established a state system of public charity for all civic classes . To this end, special orders of public charity were created in each province, which were entrusted with the obligation to organize and maintain public schools, orphanages, hospitals, pharmacies, work houses (in which poor people could earn their living with their labor) and restraining houses (for correction) people). Appropriate funds for the organization and maintenance of these institutions were allocated as initial capital from the state treasury, and the Urban Status issued in 1785 legalized the requirement for cities to deduct part of their funds from the Public Charity Orders. Under Catherine II, the first invalid home was established in Russia, but in essence it was an almshouse for charity of the wounded, sick and elderly soldiers and their families ^[1] .
• Invalid houses for a significant number of the suspected appeared under Nicholas I. Disabled people in this period included those who were incapable of any work and could not do without assistance ^[1] .

XIX century

A network of charitable institutions under the auspices of Empress Maria Fyodorovna (wife of Paul I), in 1854 , that is, after her death, was united under the general name " Office of the Institutions of Empress Mary ." Over 18 million people took advantage of the charity provided by these institutions during 1898 , not counting 20 million cases of one-time appeals to charity. About 500 thousand people permanently resided in charitable institutions ^[1] .

Russian legislation of the XIX century divided the poor into four categories ^[4] :

• those who cannot by their labor earn food;
• those who fell into need due to orphans and temporary illnesses, but can work;
• those who can labor, but are begging because of laziness and bad behavior;
• those who accidentally fell into extreme need.

In 1827, the Charter on pensions and lump-sum allowances to large officials and those who held military ranks was adopted. In accordance with the Charter, persons close to the royal court, other officials and police officers were granted pensions in the amounts established by the sole decision of the king ^[5] .

With the birth of capitalist production, the source of subsistence instead of labor in the family economy is labor for the employer, who buys labor, not guaranteeing the employee the possibility of providing it in case of old age, disability, and his family in case of loss of the bread-winner ^[1] .

The society of “equal opportunities” stimulates a person’s personal responsibility for their future and the future of their children, in connection with which the state should not interfere in the affairs of the individual and his standard of living. However, labor that became a commodity had a too low price in the form of wages, which could not guarantee not only the provision of future old age, but also the very existence during the period of work. With the formation of the class of employees, the need for mutual assistance in cases where the employee was forced to lose income due to illness, disability, his family in the event of the loss of the bread-winner became more and more obvious. Mutual assistance societies are formed in the form of cash desks, the funds of which consisted of contributions from workers and employers. Pensions from cash desks were very low and accounted for only one twentieth of earnings. The state encouraged the box office, providing legal protection, since the box office removed the responsibility for the social insecurity of the vast army of wage workers from the state and the propertied class ^[1] .

The sharp aggravation in the second half of the 19th century of the contradictions between labor and capital , threatening a social explosion, did not allow the capitalist state to take a position of non-interference in “individual freedom” for a long time. In Russia, the law on the liability of employers for industrial accidents was adopted only in 1903 (for comparison, in Germany in 1871 , in England in 1880 ). However, these laws were not yet laws on social security, since they enshrined the principles of civil liability for harm caused to the health of an employee. To obtain compensation for harm to the employee, it was necessary to prove to the court that the injury occurred due to the fault of the enterprise ^[1] .

Fundamentally New Stage

At the end of the XIX century, the social security of employees began to be provided on a legal basis, secured by the state. As a way to organize it, state social insurance of employees is introduced. In the future, national social security systems begin to form, covering the entire population and guaranteeing social assistance without regard to the payment of insurance premiums ^[1] .

Germany

On June 15, 1883, the Reichstag passed a law on compulsory state health insurance in case of illness; in July 1884, the Accident Insurance Act. The law of July 22, 1889 introduced compulsory disability and old-age insurance. Following Germany adopted laws on compulsory social insurance in other European countries ^[1] .

The essence of this system was that each person who meets the conditions specified in the law was subject to compulsory insurance; insurance contributions were made not only by employees themselves, but also by entrepreneurs; security was provided on the basis of legal norms , which made the state social insurance system guaranteed; through the rules of law, uniform conditions and sizes of security were fixed, which did not depend on the specifics of the industry sector in which the insured worked ^[1] .

Under German insurance laws, the insured was provided with free treatment, free medication and a cash allowance, the amount of which depended on the basis of payment (to all insured; women in connection with childbirth or within six weeks after childbirth; for funerals in the event of the patient's death; in case of industrial injury; in case of illness; with partial or complete disability; family in case of loss of the breadwinner due to an accident at work) ^[1] .

An old-age pension was granted upon reaching the employee 70 years. It consisted of two parts: the principal amount and the solid amount paid at the expense of public funds. A special mechanism was provided for determining the amount of disability pensions for a general disease. This size was formed of three parts: 1) a constant annual amount, the size of which depended on the category of the insured in terms of wages; 2) surcharge of the state in a solid amount; 3) an ever-increasing amount calculated taking into account the duration of the insurance period ^[1] .

England

The insurance laws of 1911-1913 introduced sickness and disability insurance. The English insurance system was distinguished by the wide participation of representatives of the insured in the work of the insurance bodies. In addition, a part of the contributions was paid by the state itself. Differentiation of insurance payments was carried out on the basis of age and gender. In the order of social insurance benefits, pensions, medical assistance, medicines, and spa treatment were provided. Old-age pensions were granted upon reaching 69 years of age.

In 1946-1948, a major reform in the field of social security was carried out. It provided: coverage of all persons of wage labor and members of their families, as well as persons independently providing themselves with work; the establishment of pensions and benefits in solid amounts, excluding earnings, but at the level of the national minimum standard; granting the right to treatment to the entire population; introduction of family benefits, pensions. Medical assistance began to be provided free of charge at the expense of the state, and not in the manner of social insurance ^[1] .

France

In France, the old-age insurance law was enacted in 1911 , and the sickness insurance law only in 1928 . The right to an old-age pension arose from the age of 65, under certain conditions it could be obtained from 60, and even 55 years, but in a lower amount. The disability pension consisted of a fixed amount, and the old-age pension consisted of a fixed amount and state supplement ^[1] .

Sweden

Compulsory old-age social insurance was introduced by law in 1913-1915. The pension fund was formed from the contributions of the insured and state subsidies . The insured's contribution was low and depended on the amount of income. Contributions were paid to the communities, and the community was responsible for not paying them. The retirement age was 67 years ^[1] .

Australia

In 1908, a law was passed under which men acquired the right to an old-age pension from 65 years old, and women from 60 years old. One of the conditions for obtaining this pension was living in Australia for 25 years and owning property no higher than a certain value. With the onset of complete disability, men could receive a pension from 60 years. The pension was also awarded to persons who became incapable of work as a result of an accident ^[1] .

USA

In the United States, the state social security system arose much later than in Europe. Legislation on compulsory or voluntary accident insurance began to be formed in 1908 , and by 1920 such laws were already in force in 43 states. The first federal law on old-age insurance was adopted in 1920, however, it applied only to employees of federal bodies . At the federal level, war veterans were also covered with pensions. Federal law on social security appeared in the United States only in August 1935 . He introduced old-age pensions, as well as state aid to certain categories of people in need - the elderly, the blind, and children from poor families. In 1935, a program was also created to help needy families with dependent children ^[1] .

Russia

In Russia, the working issue, which until now faced society and the government as a threat, at the end of the century became an obvious reality, an urgent problem that needed to be addressed ^[6] .

The code of laws of the Russian Empire provided for recovery of damages from entrepreneurs in connection with a work injury, but the possibility of using the judicial procedure for such a recovery was practically negligible for workers due to the vague wording of legal norms, high legal costs, illiteracy of workers and red tape of legal proceedings ^[7] . In the absence of a state social security system, the main form of support for workers was mutual assistance, which was provided at the expense of mutual assistance cash registers at state-owned mining factories established in accordance with the Law of March 8, 1861 . In June 1886, a law was approved to regulate the relations between manufacturers and workers, as well as the Rules on the Supervision of Industrial Enterprises and on the Relationship Between Manufacturers and Workers. The law of 1886 forbade “to charge workers for medical care”, but did not oblige it to provide and did not apply to all regions of Russia ^[5] .

Under the pressure of the class struggle, on May 15, 1901, the Provisional Rules on Pensions for Workers of State-owned Mining Plants and Mines, which lost their ability to work , were approved. On June 2, 1903, the Law on Compensation for Injured Workers as a result of Accidents was adopted. This law determines the scope of the Rules for the compensation of victims of accidents of workers and employees ^[1] . Article 1 of the Rules provided:

Of fundamental importance was the rule according to which:

In 1912, laws were passed “ On providing workers in case of illness ” and “On accident insurance”. This was a definite step towards the introduction of social security for the proletariat . However, it did not apply to many categories of workers at all and covered only 15% of the total number of workers in Russia ^[8] .

The restrictive interpretation of the concept of “accident”, the lack of compensation for professional or general illness and unemployment, insignificant amounts of remuneration, the provision to the insurance partnership of the right in some cases to deprive workers of remuneration, the possibility of replacing periodic payments with a lump sum reduced the positive effect of insurance legislation to a minimum ^[7] .

In 1913, the Charter on Industrial Labor ^[9] was developed, which contained four sections. The fourth section, which interpreted the types of support for workers and employees in industrial enterprises, included 13 chapters. The first seven chapters contained norms defining general insurance issues for employees. Chapter seven talked about the remuneration of workers and employees injured as a result of accidents, as well as members of their families in factories, mining and mining enterprises. The remaining chapters included rules on the remuneration of victims of accidents of workers and employees of state enterprises of individual departments ^[6] .

In addition to the pensions, benefits and medical assistance provided to an insignificant part of the proletariat, in tsarist Russia there were no other measures for providing and servicing the elderly and the disabled ^[7] .

Stage One

The development of the modern model of social security in Russia begins after the victory of the October Revolution of 1917 . Already in the first year of its existence, the Soviet state made an attempt to legislatively consolidate the social security system, the elements of which were the social security of the proletariat in the form of social insurance , the state security of crippled military personnel and members of their families, as well as state security in the form of detention in disabled homes, mother’s and child in orphanages. In the same period, the state began to create a system of medical care for workers. The social security system created by the Soviet state was clearly class in nature, since it excluded deposed classes from the circle of provided representatives. In April 1918, the People’s Commissariat of State Charity was renamed the People’s Commissariat of Social Security ^[10] .

After the end of the civil war, the country's main task is to restore its economy, the state is pursuing a new economic policy . The period of NEP in the history of the development of legislation on social security differs in that in a short period of time a legal basis was formed for regulating this type of social relations in the new economic conditions. During this period, the right to social security for persons with disabilities from among persons employed is secured; military personnel of the old and Red Army who have lost their ability to work as a result of injury or illness received in the war or while in military service; the issue of providing a pension in case of loss of the bread-winner of the families of workers was resolved; the payment of benefits to the insured in the event of temporary disability is established in the amount of actual earnings; a lump sum is set for child care items, an allowance for feeding a child; allowances for the burial of insured persons and members of their families are introduced; legislation on personal pensions for persons with special merits is being developed. The provision of medical assistance to all citizens, including the insured, at the expense of budgetary funds is combined with the improvement of this assistance to the insured at the expense of social insurance funds. Spa treatment is developing, holiday homes are being organized ^[10] .

After the economic recovery, the state begins to socialist industrialization of the country , the collectivization of agriculture and the cultural revolution . The problems of improving the social security of workers and employees come to the fore. A system of assistance for temporary disability is developing, including pregnancy and childbirth, and a spa business. By developing the healthcare system, the state creates guarantees for the realization of the right of citizens to free medical care and treatment. The network of children's institutions is expanding. Pensions for disability and survivors are being improved. The institute of vocational training for the disabled is emerging ^[10] .

With the completion of the construction of a socialist society, the foundations of which are enshrined in the Constitution of the USSR , adopted in December 1936 , the first stage in the history of the development of Soviet legislation on social security is being completed. The result of the functioning of the state social security system in the USSR was the consolidation in Article 120 of the Constitution of the right of citizens to material security in old age, as well as in the event of illness and disability ^[11] . In 1937, the state completely assumed the responsibility of financing health care. The threat of World War II determines the adoption of regulations that improve the retirement benefits of military personnel ^[10] .

Second Stage

After the defeat of Nazism, the country restores the national economy destroyed by the war, in connection with which, along with the problems of increasing the efficiency of social security for invalids of the Patriotic War and the families of dead military personnel, the state also solves the problems of improving the legislation on benefits and pensions. By the mid -60s, the need to unify social security legislation, especially pension insurance, and social insurance legislation became more and more obvious. In the 70-80s, quite a lot of normative acts were adopted aimed at increasing the level of social security in general and its individual types: additional benefits are provided to the blind disabled when using transport; the norms of expenses on food for children in kindergartens and children's homes are increasing; health care is improving. The pension system continues to improve: the minimum size of pensions for workers, employees and members of collective farms is increased; for the latter, a procedure for calculating pensions is introduced similar with workers and employees. Thus, by the end of the 80s, the formation of the state social security system, as well as the health care system, was basically completed in the USSR ^[10] .

On October 7, 1977, the USSR Constitution was adopted as the result of the development of Soviet legislation. The Constitution stated that state health and social security systems have been created and are developing in the country that really guarantee the equality of the rights of women and men (Article 35); citizens' right to health care (art. 42); the right to material security (art. 43) and the implementation of the state’s care for the family (art. 53) ^[12] .

Third Stage

With the adoption of the Constitution, the second stage in the history of the development of legislation on social security ended and a new one began - the third, immediately preceding the country's transition to a market economy. The adoption of the Constitution served as a new impetus for the further improvement of social security legislation. Pension legislation, while generally maintaining stability, continues to improve. The system of social benefits as a whole does not undergo significant changes. During this period, the following acts are adopted: on further improvement of the sanatorium-resort treatment and recreation of workers and the development of a network of trade union health centers; on measures to further improve the material and living conditions of the participants of the Great Patriotic War and the families of dead military personnel; on the organization of boarding houses for labor veterans; establishing the procedure for providing vehicles for disabled people from among workers, employees and collective farmers, as well as disabled since childhood and supplying the population with prosthetic and orthopedic products. The third stage in the history of the development of social security legislation was the shortest; it ended with the beginning of economic reforms in Russia.

Stage Four

The first three stages are connected with the history of the development of Soviet legislation on social security, and the fourth laid the foundation for the development of Russian legislation, the formation of which takes place in the context of a completely different economic orientation of society ^[10] .

Е. И. Астрахан выделяет следующие тенденции в развитии советского законодательства о социальном обеспечении: расширение субъектов права: расширение видов обеспечения; гуманизация условий, определяющих право на определённый вид социального обеспечения; непрерывное повышение уровня обеспечения ^[13] .

Указанные тенденции были сохранены и российским законодательством, но только первые годы после начала реформ. Законы РСФСР «О занятости населения в РСФСР», «О государственных пенсиях в РСФСР», «О дополнительных мерах по охране материнства и детства», «О ритуальном пособии» и другие были направлены на решение тех социальных проблем, которые чётко обозначились уже в советский период, но не были решены государством. Однако вскоре указанные законы были кардинально изменены либо отменены в связи с принятием новых, существенно понижающих уровень гарантий и объём прав, законодательно закреплённых государством в ранее принятых законом и даже в Конституции Российской Федерации , принятой в 1993 году и объявившей Россию социальным государством ^[10] .

• Государственный характер устанавливаемых в обществе организационно-правовых способов распределения совокупного общественного продукта через систему социального обеспечения ^[14] . Источники финансирования: за счёт средств государственного бюджета и специальных внебюджетных фондов, образованных государством(пенсионного, медицинского страхования).
• Законодательное закрепление перечня социальных рисков , признаваемых государством в качестве оснований для представления тех или иных видов социального обеспечения ^[14] . То есть право на социальное обеспечение устанавливается для определённой группы граждан только при наступлении обстоятельств, указанных в законе; преимущественно это события, например, достижение определённого возраста, инвалидность, смерть, рождение.
• Закрепление в нормах права либо в договорах, санкционированных государством, круга лиц, подлежащих обеспечению ^[14] , то есть определённых категорий граждан, установленных законом (нетрудоспособные, потерявшие кормильца, дети, семьи с детьми, безработные, жертвы политических репрессий, ветераны и др.).
• Нормирование государством социального стандарта обеспечения, ниже которого оно не может быть, путём законодательного закрепления видов обеспечения, его уровня и условий предоставления ^[14] .

Некоторые учёные выделяют и иные конструктивные признаки социального обеспечения. Так, Иванова Р. И. относит к их числу следующие: 1) Объективные основания, вызывающие потребность в особом механизме социальной защиты по поддержанию (предоставлению) определённого уровня жизнеобеспечения; 2) Особые фонды, источники социального обеспечения; 3) Особые способы создания этих фондов; 4) Особые способы предоставления средств существования; 5) Закрепление правил предоставления социального обеспечения в социальных, в том числе правовых, нормах ^[2] .

Захаров М. П. и Тучкова Э. Г. считают, что с формулировкой первого признака согласиться трудно, поскольку сами по себе объективные основания лишь вызывают потребность в особом механизме социальной защиты, однако функционирование его всегда связано с признанем обществом, государством этих оснований в качестве социальных рисков, влекущих соответствующие юридические обязанности по предоставлению социального обеспечения. В реальной жизни объективных оснований, влекущих потребность человека в социальной помощи, всегда намного больше тех, которые признаются государством социально уважительными. Вся история развития систем социального обеспечения — убедительное доказательство того, что перечень объективных оснований, признаваемых социальными рисками, непрерывно расширяется, однако вряд ли он когда-либо станет полностью тождественен реально существующим объективным причинам, вызывающим потребность человека в социальной помощи. Что касается второго, третьего и четвёртого конструктивных признаков социального обеспечения, выделяемых Р. И. Ивановой, то они, как считают Захаров М. П. и Тучкова Э. Г., отражают разные стороны одного, сущностного признака — способа организации социального обеспечения ^[14] .

Официального определения социального обеспечения как многоаспектного явления в законодательстве нет. В научной и учебной литературе понятие социального обеспечения авторами формулируется по-разному, в зависимости от того, какие признаки принимаются за базовые, основные для данного явления (см. выше).

Под социальным обеспечением понимают:

• форму распределения, гарантирующую гражданам нормальный уровень жизненного и культурного стандарта сверх вознаграждения за труд в старости, при потере трудоспособности и кормильца ^[2] ;
• систему материального обеспечения и обслуживания граждан по возрасту, болезни, инвалидности , безработице , по случаю потери кормильца, воспитания детей и в других установленных законодательством случаях ^[15] ;

• совокупность общественных отношений , складывающихся между гражданами, с одной стороны, и органами государства , местного самоуправления , организациями , — с другой, по поводу предоставления гражданам за счёт специальных фондов, бюджетных средств медицинской помощи, пенсий , пособий и других видов обеспечения при наступлении жизненных обстоятельств, влекущих за собой утрату или снижение дохода, повышенные расходы, малообеспеченность, бедность ^[16] , либо по распределению внебюджетных фондов социального назначения и перераспределению части государственного бюджета в целях удовлетворения потребностей граждан в случае утраты источника средств существования, несения дополнительных расходов или отсутствия необходимого прожиточного минимума по объективным социально значимым причинам ^[17] .

Захаров М. П. и Тучкова Э. Г. считают, что при всей внешней схожести приведённых понятий в каждом из них отражены различные признаки, признаваемые авторами сущностными, но ни в одном не указаны с должной полнотой объективно существующие черты, характерные для социального обеспечения как уникального многоаспектного общественного явления. Захаров и Тучкова говорят, что социальное обеспечение является как экономической , так и правовой , а также социальной категориями. Как экономическая категория социальное обеспечение служит определённым инструментом, используемым обществом, государством для решения одной из острейших проблем — социальной проблемы неравенства личных доходов людей, которое не является следствием неравенства производительности труда и эффективности производства. В то же время социальное обеспечение является и правовой категорией, поскольку государства реализуют политику перераспределения доходов посредством правового механизма, закрепляя нормативным путём организационно-правовые способы осуществления социального обеспечения; порядок образования соответствующих финансовых систем и их правовой статус, системы управления социальным обеспечением; круг лиц, подлежащих социальному обеспечению; виды обеспечения и условия их предоставления; механизм защиты нарушенных прав. Социальное обеспечение является и очень важной социальной категорией, так как обеспечение, адресованное человеку обществом, государством в тех случаях, когда он по независящим от него обстоятельствам нуждается в поддержке, гарантирует определённый социальный комфорт, восстанавливает статус полноценного члена общества ^[14] . Поэтому Захаров и Тучкова приводят такое определение социального обеспечения:

Назначение системы социального обеспечения проявляется в его функциях. В правовой литературе выделяются четыре основные функции социального обеспечения: экономическая, политическая, демографическая, социально-реабилитационная.

1. Экономическая функция. Экономическая функция выражается в оказании материальной поддержки гражданам в трудной жизненной ситуации, в содействии развитию общественного производства в целом и отдельных отраслей народного хозяйства, экономическому подъему зон приоритетного развития и т. д.
2. Политическая функция. Политическая функция направлена на сближение социального уровня различных слоев населения, создание условий, обеспечивающих достойную жизнь каждому человеку. Она призвана стабилизировать общественные отношения в сфере социальной защиты населения.
3. Демографическая функция. Демографическая функция способствует стимулированию роста народонаселения страны, воспроизводству здорового поколения, росту продолжительности жизни граждан и т. д.
4. Социально-реабилитационная функция. Социально-реабилитационная функция социального обеспечения (впервые выделена профессором Р. И. Ивановой) связана с удовлетворением специфических потребностей престарелых и нетрудоспособных граждан. Она выражается в создании условий, благоприятствующих сохранению их правового статуса и охране здоровья всех граждан.
5. Социальное обеспечение выполняет еще одну весьма важную функцию — защитную. Прежде всего именно эту задачу ставит перед собой общество, предоставляя социальное обеспечение своим гражданам, ибо защита их в трудной жизненной ситуации, помощь в решении различных проблем (материальных, физических, психологических, возрастных и т. д.) являются основным назначением социального обеспечения.

Предмет социального обеспечения — это виды общественных отношений, которые подразделяются на три группы:

1. Первая группа — отношения по поводу денежных выплат, в том числе различных пенсий, пособий и компенсаций.
2. Вторая группа — отношения по поводу медицинской помощи, лечения, лекарственной помощи, социально-культурного лечения, обслуживания инвалидов и лиц пенсионного возраста
3. Третья группа — процедурные и процессуальные отношения (в связи с установленной юридической формой, основанием для возникновения, изменения и прекращения отношений по социальному обеспечению).

Социальное обеспечение может быть имущественным (деньги, вещи, услуги) или неимущественным (например, психологическая помощь).

Виды социального обеспечения делятся на две группы ^[18] :

1. Социально-обеспечительная помощь. Помощь по системе права социального обеспечения оказывается тем категориям нуждающихся, которые, согласно цели этого вида предоставления 1) имеют определённый источник средств к существованию, но этот источник был ими временно утрачен и должен быть восстановлен в связи с объективной возможностью устранения причины необеспеченности; 2) помощь оказывается в тех случаях, когда нуждающиеся обладают постоянным источником средств к существованию, но его размер очень мал и не в состоянии обеспечить алиментарное существование; 3) помощь может предоставляться и тогда, когда лицо, возможно, не утрачивает постоянный или основной источник средств к существованию, но в силу сложившихся, как правило, непредвиденных, чрезвычайных обстоятельств, оказывается в состоянии нуждаемости, например, в результате расстройства здоровья, стихийных бедствий и катастроф и в других случаях.
2. Социально-обеспечительное содержание. Преследует цель предоставить человеку необходимые и достаточные для жизнесуществования средства. Это значит, что государство обязуется направить в адрес нуждающегося, дать ему то, без чего естественное существование человека как биосоциального организма невозможно.

Отличие социально-обеспечительной помощи от содержания состоит в том, что помощь имеет временный характер и не является основным источником средств к существованию.

К социально-обеспечительной помощи относятся: 1) пособия; 2) компенсации; 3) льготы; 4) некоторые виды социальных и медицинских услуг за счёт средств фонда обязательного медицинского страхования; 5) предоставление предметов первой необходимости (одежда, обувь, продукты питания) малоимущим гражданам и семьям.

Социально-обеспечительное содержание сводится к двум видам: 1) пенсии; 2) часть социальных услуг, оказываемых стационарными учреждениями социального обслуживания населения. Основанием деления видов социального обеспечения является их форма: денежная: 1) все виды и разновидности пенсий; 2) пособия во всех их разновидностях; и натуральная: 1) содержание граждан пожилого возраста и инвалидов в домах (интернатах, пансионатах) для престарелых и инвалидов; 2) санаторно-курортное лечение, иные виды медицинских услуг; 3) предметы первой необходимости; 4) компенсации, например, в виде предоставления жилья, утраченного в связи со стихийными бедствиями, радиационными катастрофами и т. д.; 5) льготы, в частности, бесплатное обеспечение лекарственными препаратами, внеочередное бытовое обслуживание и т. д.

Законодательство закрепляет лишь шесть видов социального обеспечения: 1) пенсии; 2) пособия; 3) социально-обеспечительные компенсации; 4) льготы; 5) социальные и медицинские услуги; 6) предметы первой необходимости.

• Право социального обеспечения, пенсионное законодательство РФ (подборка документов)
• Глоссарий социального обеспечения
• Система социального обеспечения в Америке
• Концепция социального государства Российской Федерации
• Social Security Law Development: New Approaches
• Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation. Official site
• Social Security in Taiwan
• Pension systems of France, Italy, Great Britain, USA, China, Japan, India
• Social Security in the USSR
• Pension Fund of the Russian Federation
• Federal Law "On State Social Assistance" dated July 17, 1999 No. 178-FZ (as amended on December 8, 2010)