Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am pleased to address the Second World Assembly on behalf of the International Social Security Association (ISSA). The ISSA is an international organization that brings together 360 institutions and administrative bodies dealing with one or more aspects of social security in more than 140 countries over the world. The Association is the principal forum for reflection and the exchange of experience on social security around the world, and its main objectives are to cooperate, at the international level, for the defense, promotion and social security throughout the world.

For the ISSA, the Second World Assembly on Ageing is an event of very real importance. Indeed, older persons are at the center of all national social protection policies. Ageing affects in reality all branches of social security protection: sickness insurance, family policies, disability and survivors insurance, unemployment insurance and of course old-age pensions. 

In its 75 years of activity – with such a venerable age we feel we can talk with some authority of ageing issues – ISSA has committed itself to providing older people the best possible pension  protection. It is indeed a very real success story in many countries, because old-age insurance programmes have lifted large numbers of the population out of poverty and enabled many of them to approach retirement with a feeling of confidence and security. And we believe that this success story will continue in the future. 

As many speakers – in particular the Director-General of the ILO,  Juan Somavia – have already stated before this Assembly, social security should not only survive, but can and should be further strengthened. The sustainability of social security is linked closely with continued economic growth, with steady improvements in productivity, and with the creation of employment and decent work. A viable social security system can in turn make a critical contribution to continuing economic progress as well as to social justice. 

The ISSA recognizes fully that, despite its successes of social security to date, large numbers of populations, particularly in the developing world, are today not adequately covered by social protection schemes.  This lack of coverage only further contributes to the enduring poverty that exists in most developing countries, particularly among their older citizens. This issue of the lack of adequate and effective social security coverage is one of the main challenges of this century, and the ISSA is committed to addressing this issue in several different ways, including:

- Studying the extent of the coverage gap in different societies around the world;

- Assisting social security institutions all around the world to strengthen their administrative capacity, to improve their governance structures and to develop their research and policy-making activities;

- To promote cooperation among social security institutions so that they may better learn from the successes and even from the less successful experiences of their counterparts in other parts of the world.

Let me insist, Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen, on the crucial role social security plays not only for the alleviation of poverty among the elderly but also for reinforcing the capacity of families to help their members across the generations.  Social security is not just about ageing it is also about helping younger generations to remain healthy and active.

Finally, let me inform the Second World Assembly that the ISSA has collected over the years a unique and ever expanding information system relating to social security programmes throughout the world.  This information system includes not only up-to-date descriptions of national social security arrangements but also information on recent reforms and other important developments. This set of information, known as Social Security Worldwide, is available on CD-ROM and the Internet.  This data base could contribute to future efforts to monitor the incomes and health protection of older persons around the world. The ISSA is in fact already cooperating with other international institutions, including the ILO, the European Commission and the OECD – to strengthening our information resources on social protection measures.   The ISSA stands willing and ready to cooperate with United Nations efforts related to the implementation and follow up of the Plan of Action.

Mr. President
Distinguished Delegates

Social security is of course very close to the lives of many older citizens around the world. Social security institutions are committed to delivering the best possible services to their citizens. As echoed in many of the contributions to this Second World Assembly, social security schemes have made a valuable contribution to the successful ageing of populations.  The ageing of the population is thus an achievement and a cause for celebration.  It is therefore our duty to ensure the future sustainability of social security arrangements by making any necessary adjustments now so that future generations of the elderly will also be able to rely on their social security protection in the future.