Social insurance

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Social insurance is any government-sponsored program with the following three characteristics:

* the benefits, eligibility requirements and other aspects of the program are defined by statute;
* it is funded by taxes or premiums paid by (or on behalf of) participants (although additional sources of funding may be provided as well); and
* the program serves a defined population, and participation is either compulsory or the program is heavily enough subsidized that most eligible individuals choose to participate.[1]

Social insurance has also been defined as a program where risks are transferred to and pooled by an organization, often governmental, that is legally required to provide certain benefits.[2]

In the U.S., programs that meet these definitions include Social Security, Medicare, the PBGC program, the railroad retirement program and state-sponsored unemployment insurance programs.[1] The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) is also a social insurance program