Risk management is the process of identifying, analysing, accepting, mitigating or transferring uncertainty in investment decisions. Fund managers apply risk management by analysing and attempting to quantify the potential loss of an investment and then acting accordingly.

Institutions are being transformed thanks to the integration of new technologies. This vision represents a corporate change with a social impact, reducing costs, simplifying processes and procedures, and raising awareness of the importance and benefits of this transformation.

Article 12 of Law No. 5508 on the Promotion, Protection of Maternity and Support for Breastfeeding establishes that maternity allowance should be paid to employed women by the social security scheme of Paraguay’s Social Insurance Institute (Instituto de Previsión Social – IPS). This amount is equivalent to 100 per cent of her salary at the time of delivery, and is paid for the prescribed months of rest. This used to be given to women in a single payment.

The issue of population growth and social security planning is one of the biggest challenges facing governments today, and is a key part of a good social security system that instils confidence in its members.

The Retirement and Pension Fund for Employees of Banks and Related Institutions (Caja de Jubilaciones y Pensiones de Empleados de Bancos y Afines) (Bank Fund, hereinafter) is in constant communication with its members. It therefore continuously updates its databases, in order to have a better understanding of members’ current realities, experiences and needs.

Digital transformation is happening in institutions through the integration of new technologies. This vision represents an institutional and social change, optimizing available resources, reducing costs, shortening processes and procedures, and raising awareness of the importance and benefits of this transformation.

Good practice in health – service quality.

As health-care systems have evolved to become more complex and due to the resultant increase in patients coming to harm in health care settings, patient safety has emerged as a health-care discipline.

The Actuarial Advisory Office (Asesoría Actuarial) of the Social Insurance Institute (Instituto de Previsión Social – IPS) carried out an actuarial valuation of the Common Retirement and Pension Fund (Fondo Común de Jubilaciones y Pensiones). The valuation looks to comply with international best practices and observe the guidelines and standards of the International Standards of Actuarial Practice 2 (ISAP 2), and the ISSA-ILO Guidelines on Actuarial Work for Social Security, with technical support from the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Like most of the world’s countries, Paraguay has adopted lockdown measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. These steps taken by the government have impacted the productive sector, leading to mass suspensions of employment contracts for persons insured with the Social Insurance Institute (Instituto de Previsión Social – IPS) of Paraguay.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a severe impact on South Africa’s economy and the livelihood of its citizens. Many South Africans lost their incomes as a result of the pandemic and subsequent lock-down regulations. In an effort to provide relief, South Africa introduced a special COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress grant (cSRD) to address income support gap and food insecurity.

When the world was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) was forced to reduce the number of clients permitted to visit its offices.

Clients were not permitted to visit SASSA offices to give consent for funeral insurance deductions from their social assistance payments. Through collaboration with one of the local Fintech companies, SASSA introduced submission of electronic mandates in two phases:

Paraguay’s Social Insurance Institute (Instituto de Previsión de Social – IPS) used to make sick leave payments at its administrative offices, which had associated administrative costs and meant beneficiaries had to visit the IPS service counter in person.

The effect of climate change is already a measurable reality posing significant social, economic, and environmental risks globally. For a developing country like South Africa, the risks associated with climate change are exacerbated by high levels of poverty, inequality and unemployment. The World Bank’s Climate Risk Country Profile for South Africa (2021) states that climate change is expected to increase the risk and severity of water scarcity and drought across South Africa.

The Independent Tribunal for Social Assistance Appeals (ITSAA) was established in 2008 to give effect to section 33 of the Constitution of South Africa and domestic legislation relating to the Promotion of Administrative Justice. The ITSAA is responsible for adjudicating appeals received from disgruntled social grant applicants and beneficiaries following grant applications or reviews by the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA).

The technological platform has been upgraded and enhanced several times to ensure that this objective was realized. However, many of the processes were still largely reliant on paper and they were not as seamless and efficient as we would have liked them to be.

This is aimed chiefly at women who engage in Agriculture and men who pursue fishing as a principle means of making a living and others who are involved in small businesses and industries, but who may not be covered or are only partially covered.

The Child Support Grant (CSG) is one of the social assistance programmes in South Africa established to address child poverty. Emerging from the apartheid regime, the democratic government introduced the CSG in 1998 to replace the racially based State Maintenance Grant (SMG), which had been in existence from the 1930s providing income protection to white families, excluding most black families and their children. The new grant removed the racially discriminatory features, which expanded the coverage to all eligible children.