The lack of social protection is, in many countries, linked to a lack of information. When they have insufficient awareness of their rights and responsibilities, workers and their families cannot understand the importance or reach of social protection. It is therefore necessary to educate people about social security in order to promote their access to benefits, their autonomy and their empowerment.

Social security evasion and fraud issues have high social and economic cost, create imbalances in social security accounts and ultimately lead to economic distortions that are not favourable to the functioning and competitiveness of the national economy. They also have a political impact because they undermine the reputation of the institutions that administer the social security programmes. It is estimated that evasion and fraud cause a 3 to 5 per cent income shortfall in social security systems and amount to up to 2 per cent of the gross domestic product of OECD countries (RAND Europe, 2014). These figures are likely to be higher in countries with less formal economies.