Social security

Social security primarily refers to social welfare service concerned with social protection, or protection against socially recognized conditions, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment and others. Although some publications use the terms "social security" and "social protection" interchangeably, social security is used both more narrowly (to refer only to schemes with the formal title of 'social security') and more widely (referring to many kinds of social welfare schemes). Social security may refer to:
social insurance, where people receive benefits or services in recognition of contributions to an insurance scheme. These services typically include provision for retirement pensions, disability insurance, survivor benefits and unemployment insurance.
income maintenance—mainly the distribution of cash in the event of interruption of employment, including retirement, disability and unemployment
services provided by administrations responsible for social security. In different countries this may include medical care, aspects of social work and even industrial relations.
More rarely, the term is also used to refer to basic security, a term roughly equivalent to access to basic necessities—things such as food, clothing, shelter, education and medical care.