Social assistance refers to the provision of benefits financed from the general revenue of the government rather than by individual contributions, with benefits adjusted to the person’s needs. Social assistance schemes are either universal (i.e., providing benefits to all citizens, e.g., universal health care), categorical (i.e., providing benefits to one specific category of citizens such as children or the elderly), or poverty-targeting (i.e., providing benefits only to the poor by targeting individuals and households living under a defined threshold of income or assets). The benefits can be provided in cash or in-kind, examples being direct cash transfers and free school meals, respectively.

Social insurance programmes are financed by individual contributions in the form of regular payments. There are various social insurance schemes, covering risks such as sickness, injury and disability, unemployment, old-age poverty, and maternity, respectively. The concept of social insurance is based on formal employment and depending on the scheme, contributions are shared between employer and employee (e.g., health insurance, unemployment insurance, old-age pensions) or fully borne by the employer (employment injury insurance). Employment injury insurance, the protection against work-related accidents and occupational diseases, is usually the first programme to be introduced when countries start to develop their social insurance system.