social insurance

American  

noun

1. any of various forms of insurance in which a government is an insurer, especially such insurance that provides assistance to disabled or unemployed workers and to aged persons.

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social insurance British  

noun

1. government insurance providing coverage for the unemployed, the injured, the old, etc: usually financed by contributions from employers and employees, as well as general government revenue See also social security national insurance social assistance

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Etymology

Origin of social insurance

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

The platforms also started offering some social insurance programs for delivery workers this year.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 20, 2025

“What they’re essentially contributing to is a national social insurance program,” Shedden said.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 16, 2025

It used to take a week to get a social insurance number for a new asylum seeker.

From BBC • Mar. 19, 2023

On Thursday, Mikhail Mishustin, Russia’s prime minister, said that the four regions would be part of the Russian social insurance system, which issues payments to workers when they fall ill or become disabled.

From New York Times • Jan. 27, 2023

And, finally, the third principle is to use the agencies of government to assist in the establishment of means to provide sound and adequate protection against the vicissitudes of modern life—in other words, social insurance.

From The Fireside Chats of Franklin Delano Roosevelt by Roosevelt, Franklin Delano

Related Words

• social security