Social Security

The Social Security Administration is preparing to lay off at least 7,000 people from its workforce of 60,000, according to a person familiar with the agency's plans who is not authorised to speak publicly. The workforce reduction, according to a second person who also spoke on the condition of anonymity, could be as high as 50%. It's unclear how the layoffs will directly impact the benefits of the 72.5 million Social Security beneficiaries, which include retirees and children who receive retirement and disability benefits. However, advocates and Democratic lawmakers warn that layoffs will reduce the agency's ability to serve recipients in a timely manner. Some say cuts to the workforce are, in effect, a cut in benefits. Later Friday, the agency sent out a news release outlining plans for significant workforce reductions, employee reassignments from non-mission critical positions to mission critical direct service positions," and an offer of voluntary separation agreements. The agen

He further said that the consolidation of 29 labour laws into four simplified labour codes has promoted labour welfare

Social security remains a fundamental pillar of India's commitment to social justice, Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday said, noting that its coverage increased to 48.8 per cent of the total population in 2024 from 24.4 per cent in 2021. Addressing the inaugural session of the Regional Dialogue on Social Justice 2025, Mandaviya said, "The unemployment rate has declined from 6 per cent in 2017-18 to 3.2 per cent in 2023-24, while the Labour Force Participation Rate has increased from 49.8 per cent to 60.1 per cent". These positive indicators underscore the impact of our reforms and initiatives. Labour reforms have been a foundation of India's efforts to modernise its workforce policies, he added. The consolidation of 29 labour laws into four simplified Labour Codes has promoted labour welfare, universalised wages and social security, and ensured safer working conditions, he pointed out. These reforms have also improved the ease of doing business by streamlining ...

Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday said that the government provides social security to 92 crore people or 65 per cent of the country's population. Replying to a supplementary oral question in Rajya Sabha, Mandaviya said, "About a decade ago, social security was provided to 18 per cent people in the country who are pensionable." Today, he said, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government has provided social security to 48 per cent people. "This excludes beneficiaries under various social security schemes of states. If we add food security in this then 65 per cent people are getting social security. India is providing social security to 92 crore people in the country," he said. He informed the House that the government has provided food security to 80 crore people and about 60 crore people get Rs 5 lakh of health assurance under Ayushman Bharat scheme. People above the age of 70 years and gig workers are also brought under the Ayushman Bharat scheme. About 65 c

Gig workers will also be provided with health insurance under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, and this will benefit at least 10 million such workers, added the finance minister

The number of gig workers in India are expected to grow to 23.5 million by the end of 2029-30 from around 7.7 million in 2020-21

Union minister JP Nadda said on Saturday that the distribution of Svamitva property cards and other initiatives underscore the Narendra Modi government's resolve to empower the people. He said 3.17 lakh villages were covered with the help of technology under the Svamitva Scheme, and 1.53 lakh farmers will be given property rights today. Nadda virtually attended the distribution of Svamitva cards by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Ahmedabad with Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Governor Acharya Devvrat. "Under Prime Minister Modi's leadership, the empowerment of the common man has been given great importance. The Modi government always prioritised people and ensured how we should work to empower the common man," Nadda said while addressing a state-level programme. PM Modi distributed around 65 lakh Svamitva property cards, which he said would bolster economic activities and alleviate poverty. These property cards are being distributed to beneficiaries across more than 50,000 ..

The labour ministry has asked states to extend social security benefits to ensure 100 per cent coverage like health, insurance, accidental benefits for all workers, besides leveraging technology to enhance the functioning of welfare boards. The ministry view emerged at the 16th Building & Other Construction Workers(BoCW) 'Monitoring Committee Meeting', chaired by Union Labour Secretary Sumita Dawra, on January 13, 2025, in hybrid mode, as per the ministry statement. The meeting was attended by DG Labour Welfare, other senior officers of the ministry, additional chief secretary/ principal secretaries/ labour commissioners, of states/UTs, secretaries of BoCW welfare boards, central welfare commissioners, besides representatives from the National Health Authority, and Department of Financial Services. More than 100 participants attended the meeting. As per the statement, Dawra said the states/UTs take required steps for utilisation of cess fund for extending coverage of social ...

Social Security Fairness Act will boost Social Security payments to more than 2.5 million retirees - some by as much as $550 a month- by changing formulas used to reduce benefits for certain beneficia

President Joe Biden on Sunday plans to sign into law a measure that boosts Social Security payments for current and former public employees, affecting nearly 3 million people who receive pensions from their time as teachers, firefighters, police officers and in other public service jobs. Advocates say the Social Security Fairness Act rights a decades-old disparity, though it will also put strain on Social Security Trust Funds, which face a looming insolvency crisis. The bill rescinds two provisions the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset that limit Social Security benefits for recipients if they get retirement payments from other sources, including public retirement programmes from a state or local government. The Congressional Research Service estimated that in December 2023, there were 745,679 people, about 1 per cent of all Social Security beneficiaries, who had their benefits reduced by the Government Pension Offset. About 2.1 million people, or .

Labour lawyer B C Prabhakar said that since the new labour codes are not yet implemented, it is pertinent that the government come up with a holistic framework for welfare of this bulging workforce

With the number of rejections rising to almost a third of claims, the government is taking steps to radically reform the country's largest social security platform in order to ease payouts of benefits

According to various estimates, there are roughly 500 million unorganised workers in the country

The government is working on integrating welfare schemes across ministries into a single portal for unorganised sector workers to access, as well as for private firms to tap into for labour needs

Employees' State Insurance Corporation's (ESIC) Medical Benefit Council on Friday approved convergence of ESI scheme with Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY to enhance healthcare accessibility to beneficiaries. The decision to converge the two schemes was taken at 86th Meeting of Medical Benefit Council held at ESIC headquarters here, a labour ministry statement said. Ashok Kumar Singh, Director General (DG), ESIC chaired the meeting. Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY is the largest health assurance scheme in the world which aims at providing a health cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization to over 12 crore poor and vulnerable families (approximately 55 crore beneficiaries) that form the bottom 40 per cent of the Indian population. The council also approved the implementation of the Common Support Mission (CSM) for states. The CSM aims to improve and strengthen ESI's medical service delivery system in sates with focus on the IP (insured persons) centric ...

Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday said a policy for providing social security benefits like pension and health services to gig and platform workers is under process. Talking to reporters, the minister said Niti Aayog has estimated 65 lakh gig and platform workers in the country, but the number is likely to be over two crore as this segment is growing very fast. He explained that the service sector is moving very fast to platforms for ease of consumers and expanding their operations. About different provisions of the Social Security Code for gig and platform workers, he said, "We cannot deprive them of their rights till the implementation of the Code. We have to bring a policy before that". About the timeline for bringing the policy, he said the ministry wants to bring the policy at the earliest. "I want to do a lot of things before the next budget," he said. Earlier in the day, the minister chaired the meeting of representatives of various associations and union

According to the minister, the social security coverage details that have been shared with the US cover about 930 million people in India

Registration on the e-Shram portal is essential for workers to benefit from various social welfare programmes, said Union Ministry of Labour & Employment

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Monday highlighted the issues being faced by DTC employees and said those who make the journey of lakhs of passengers smooth everyday have only gotten injustice in return. Sharing a video of his interaction with Delhi Transport Service (DTC) employees last week and a bus ride he undertook, Gandhi said on X that the DTC employees are asking the government that if they are permanent citizens, why are their jobs temporary. "A few days ago, after a pleasant bus ride in Delhi, I interacted with DTC employees and got to know about their daily routine and problems," the former Congress chief said in his post in Hindi. "No social security, no stable income and no permanent job - contractual labour has reduced a job of great responsibility to a state of compulsion," he said. While drivers and conductors are forced to live in the darkness of uncertainty, the home guards who are constantly deployed for the safety of passengers have been ..

The Congress on Monday took a swipe at the government after it stated that it is committed to extending social security benefits to gig workers, saying it has "finally awoken" to the need for a comprehensive national law for such workers' welfare and that it is welcome to borrow from its policy on this urgent issue. The opposition party's remarks came a day after Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said the government is actively exploring various avenues to ensure gig and platform workers are covered under social security. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the government has "finally awoken" to the need for a comprehensive national law for welfare of gig workers. The Congress and Rahul Gandhi took this issue up aggressively during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, and the Congress governments in Karnataka and Rajasthan have already legislated to provide gig workers with rights and protection, Ramesh said on X. It was also a key pillar of the party's Paanch