Depending on what country or state you are working in, the benefits attached to your social security will vary immensely. This may include such things as retirement, which is main, disability, survivor, or supplemental benefits. That is why, despite attempts by individuals to use hacks to increase their benefits, there are still countries or regions that offer not-so-impressive plans and ones that have plans that are well thought out.
In case you were wondering, social security is a sort of insurance program that workers in a country or region contribute to through their income in the form of social security tax. Moreover, depending on what the law says, earnings from payouts you receive from playing gambling games such as real online slots will count as income that is subjected to social security considerations.
Thus, you must do your homework to find out whether the law of your state, region or country requires you to report your gambling earnings from slots, lottery games, and the like. If it does, then you should comply to avoid legal issues of any magnitude. That said, below are five of the best countries in terms of social security benefits:
Australia
The Australian social security is over 100 years old, and in recent years, it is currently ranked as one of the best in the world. When it started, the plan covered old age and disability, but later on, it included survivors. The Australian Social Security Act stipulates an immense number of services regulated by social security legislation in the country. There are tremendous benefits that cover retirees, persons with disabilities, orphans, new mothers, the unemployed, people going through financial hardships and parents with young kids.
Netherlands
The Dutch social security framework is very comprehensive and covers aspects that would be unheard of anywhere on the globe and is designed to address personal and family needs. It’s divided into social insurances and social services, making it very thorough for Dutch citizens. It covers unemployment of older, formerly self-employed people and partially disabled workers, childcare, chronic care, old-age pension and spousal support. The health benefits are limited for illnesses, and it is therefore mandatory to take basic healthcare insurance.
The plan even covers foreigners working in the country who must pay into the system to receive benefits. These range from maternity & paternity leave, sick leave, unemployment benefits, long-term care and disability benefits.
Denmark
The Danish system is a little different as the general system is mandatory for all residents and covers plenty of benefits. Even refugees are covered in the social security scheme. There are statutory and non-statutory contributions that are generally based on your employment status. The benefits included are unemployment benefits, family benefits for childcare, maternity and paternity benefits, early retirement, healthcare, accidents at work and occupational diseases, sickness benefits, death grant and pension.
France
In France, the social security plan is fragmented into parts that determine who gets what. For example, you will find that there are salaried employees divided into civil servants, workers in the semi-public industry, and those in the private sector and self-employed persons. But then, the self-employed individuals are further divided into those working in the agricultural sector and those not.
This categorization determines the contributions that will go into the scheme, as well as the benefits, each will receive. The benefits for salaried employees are healthcare, disability benefits, occupational diseases, maternity and paternity benefits, family benefits for children, unemployment, basic retirement, supplementary pension and death. The self-employed benefits would manage your health protection and offer a prevention program that offers you specialized medical appointments and information on the risks involved in doing different jobs.
Sweden
This is another scheme that covers residents and foreign workers. The system is financed through compulsory contributions, and employee contributions are supplemented by employer contributions, whether Sweden-based or foreign. Benefits include healthcare insurance, parental insurance for women, invalidity benefits, workplace injuries, family benefits where a child allowance is paid for all children in Sweden regardless of their means, unemployment benefits and retirement.
Don’t Confuse Social Security with Pension Plans
Social security is not a retirement plan although, in some countries, the words are used interchangeably due to some social security schemes containing some form of pension benefits. The main difference would be that a pension is a retirement plan that requires an employer to make contributions to a fund for an employee’s future benefit, whereas social security is a fund that requires the current workforce to contribute towards current benefits of retirees, low-income earners, the unemployed or persons with disabilities.
The catch is that during the beneficiary’s working years, they must have contributed to the social security fund and earned a specified number of credits to be eligible for benefits in the future, although as seen above, some countries do not put such restrictions on their residents, especially children.