87 -
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On the one hand, it is clearly to the interest of the social security institution that its funds should be used as far as possible in conditions that tend to better the health, education and standard of living of the insured persons, cr that contribute to capital formation and new employment opportunities, thus contributing ultimately to the well-being of the whole population. In countries where capital supply is short it may be important that the sums saved in the form of social security reserves should be placed, as safely as possible, at the disposal of the national economy.
the
Also, there is another condition which is particularly important for developing countries, namely that the investment should be easy to administer and should not divert too much the attention of the management of the institution frcm its fundamental responsibility, namely to implement the social security legislation and to provide in the most economical and efficient way the benefits to protected persons. Social security institutions embarking on investment prograndes implying extensive financial transactions or the direct management of sizeable properties, real estate, etc., may become more absorbed and occupied by these transactions rather than by the social and welfare activities to which they should be dedicated.
B.
Social security statistics
Objectives of social security statistics
The importance of developing and implementing a sound plan of statistics by every social security institution cannot be overemphasised. In fact the statistics which can result from the operation of social security schemes can serve purposes outside the field of social security proper, in addition to their uses within social security per se.
The objectives which they serve have been enumerated by the ILO Committee of Social Security Experts, 1959, as follows':
(a)
(b)
(c)
(a)
(e)
(f)
(9)
to provide information needed for evaluation of the operation of the scheme, especially in regard to any changes and adjustments recently made;
to provide data for appraisal of the financial structure of the scheme through actuarial valuations and short and long-term forecasts;
to provide basic datą for proper administrative control of the social security scheme and for appraisal of its operating efficiency;
to provide information necessary in order to plan for changes in the scheme in the future;
to provide a means of appraising the scheme as an instrument of social policy and, in particular, to provide a basis for the evaluation of the level of social security protection afforded to various population groups;
to provide general information on social security for the public SO that it can better understand the operation of the scheme; and
records to
to provide data from the established
satisfy important outside needs, namely in the fields of labour, economic, health, demographic and other statistics.
Types_of_social security statistics, their classification and characteristics
The data usually available within the framework of social security schemes relate to the following three aspects:
1 ILO, Governing Body, 141st Session, Geneva, 10-13 March 1959 (GB.141/6/7, Annex IV).
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