Jordan’s social security system constitutes the backbone of the national social protection framework and a cornerstone of social, economic, and political stability. It provides individuals and families with protection against the risks of old age, disability, death, unemployment, work injuries, maternity, and other social contingencies.
اضافة اعلان
The importance of this system is not limited to its social dimension alone; it also extends to its role in promoting social justice and social cohesion, reducing poverty and vulnerability, and supporting long-term stability.
In this context, the results of the Eleventh Actuarial Study, recently announced by the Social Security Corporation, have once again drawn attention to the sustainability of the insurance system. The study confirms that the financial position of the scheme remains secure in the medium term, while also pointing to future structural challenges that require well-designed legislative and policy interventions to preserve sustainability and delay the breakeven points.
Although these findings may raise legitimate concerns among broad segments of society, they essentially constitute a scientific confirmation of a set of structural imbalances that have been warned against for years. Most notably, these include the widening coverage gap, the outdated methodology for determining retirement years, the expansion of early retirement, and weaknesses in institutional governance and independence.
Accordingly, this first article in a series to be published in this column aims to contribute to the ongoing national debate on the future direction of amendments to the Social Security Law, based on human rights principles, decent work standards, and best international practices.
At the outset, it is important to emphasize that Jordan’s social security system is among the most advanced in the Arab region. However, preserving its quality and sustainability requires proactive and comprehensive reforms, so that we do not find ourselves forced into repeated and fragmented amendments that undermine public trust and place the burden of structural imbalances on insured persons who did not cause them.
Expanding social insurance coverage represents a central entry point for reforming the system and strengthening its sustainability. Official indicators show that nearly 50 per cent of all workers in Jordan remain outside the umbrella of social security.
These figures reflect a wide coverage gap that points to a fundamental mismatch between the design of the current social security system and its limited responsiveness to the deep and rapid transformations taking place in the labour market. New and expanding forms of work, such as platform-based work, remote work, freelancing, and other non-standard employment arrangements, often do not rely on a clear and traditional employment relationship between a worker and an employer, nor on self-employment within a formally registered business. As a result, it is difficult to include such workers under the existing system’s rules.
The persistence of this gap contradicts the right to social security as an integral part of the human rights and decent work framework. It also weakens the role of social security as a preventive tool against poverty, vulnerability, and social inequality. Moreover, it leaves large segments of society at risk of becoming future beneficiaries of direct social assistance programmes financed by the public treasury, particularly through the National Aid Fund. From a financial and actuarial perspective, this translates into lost potential insurance revenues and a weakening of the long-term sustainability of the social security system.
Therefore, expanding the base of insured contributors within the social security framework is a decisive factor in strengthening financial sustainability and delaying the breakeven points. This requires, first and foremost, the design of state-subsidised insurance instruments that are more flexible, equitable, and affordable for workers, and that are compatible with new forms of work that do not fit the traditional enterprise model. It also requires effective action to combat insurance evasion in licensed business establishments.
