| Exercise 12. Go through the text and get ready to speak according to the following items.
1. The present social welfare structure in Belarus.
2. Funding of the Belarusian social welfare system.
3. Major challenges in the Belarusian social welfare system.
Welfare in Belarus.
The present social welfare system in Belarus has three components - social
insurance, social assistance, and social services. Social insurance programs
provide partial compensation for the income lost due to retirement, temporary
disability, or unemployment. These programs are funded from social insurance
funds. Thus, unemployment support, temporary disability compensation, and
pensions are considered an earned benefit and not a charity.
Government welfare support is provided to individuals who cannot provide for themselves, including disabled people and households with dependent children.
These programs are funded through taxation. Eligibility for such support depends
on the applicant’s ability to prove their need. Applicants are required to provide
documented proof that their incomes are low, and therefore they are considered
to be poor. Social support is also rendered to certain groups of the population,
such as the disabled, war veterans, and Chernobyl victims, among others.
Social service programs are just beginning to develop. Such programs will
provide medical and personal services, counselling, legal and advisory support,
and facilities for social adjustment and rehabilitation of individuals and families
in difficult circumstances.
Belarus has a state-managed system to insure citizens against social risks -
such as temporary or permanent disability due to illness, an industrial accident,
or a professional disease, loss of breadwinner, retirement, or unemployment.
Funding for such insurance is governed by the laws On the Budget and On Basic
Social Security, and is provided by the national budget and national insurance
funds, notably, the Social Welfare Fund and the Employment Support Fund.
There are virtually no independent social security systems.
The greatest difficulties have been encountered in pension and unemployment insurance. The present pension system is based on the principle of solidarity: the money to disburse pensions is received from employees and employers, who pay a certain percentage of their wages and the payroll fund to support the pension-age population.
Exercise 13. Read the extract from the article by Brad Forenza, MSW, published in The New Social Worker, and try to understand its main purpose and the author’s point of view on the issue described.
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