Social Security: An Understanding

Abstract

A respectable and dignified life is the birthright of every individual, and social security is a vital requirement for living such a life. The concept has several dimensions and is usually understood through its principal components: social assistance, social insurance and social protection. The phrase social security is widely credited to Abraham Epstein, whose work Insecurity: A Challenge to America became a foundational text in the field, and the idea gained currency after President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the United States Social Security Act of 1935. This paper sets out the meaning, dimensions and components of social security and then examines, through a primary survey of 615 respondents in the Kozhikode district of Kerala, how well people understand the social security system. Using a t-test, analysis of variance and a least-significant-difference analysis, it finds that understanding differs significantly by gender, education, profession, caste and age, and that, strikingly, those who depend on social security most, the less educated, the manual labourers and unemployed, the Scheduled Castes and Tribes, and the elderly, understand it best.