A sizeable portion of the work force in the Americas engages in the platform economy, whether as a main or supplementary source of income. This article presents reforms and developments in the region that already have had, or that may have, an impact on the employment status and social protection of platform workers.

In the Americas, as in the rest of the world, social security is a powerful instrument through which the public feels the presence of government. The quality of the social security experience is an important gauge of public satisfaction with government and political leadership; administrators thus have a compelling reason to strive for excellence in the administration of social security programmes.

Extending and maintaining social security coverage stands out as a perennial challenge for social security administrations in the Americas. The rapidly  evolving needs of different population groups, especially children, women and the elderly, as well as economic and sociopolitical changes and demographic and technological transitions, have brought about societal transformations with an ever-increasing number of people in need of social security protection.

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.

Non-contributory pensions, also known as social pensions, are an important component of rights-based universal social protection systems. They allow extending pension coverage relatively rapidly to elderly persons who are not covered by contributory schemes. Usually financed by general revenues and providing relatively modest benefits, eligibility for social pensions is often conditional on low income or certain other criteria.