Women and men of working-age made up 67.7 per cent of the population of Uzbekistan in 2016. In 1992 the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan amended the national social insurance system in order to provide extended income security to the working age population. Uzbekistan’s social insurance system is implemented by the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection and the National Employment Service.
Uzbekistan’s social insurance system entitles all citizens to a comprehensive package of unemployment allowances (UA), temporary disability allowances and coverage for work related injuries. The UA is obligatory for all employees above the age of 16 and is non-contributory for the employee, financed through contributions of 3 per cent by employers with additional costs covered by the government. Those who are self-employed can make contributions on a voluntary basis. The allowance can be accessed by those who have worked a minimum of 12 weeks within a 12 month period, those who are re-entering the workforce and have at least one year of work experience, or those seeking their first job. The allowance can be paid for no more than 6 months within a year at a rate of 50 per cent of the claimant's average earnings within 26 weeks prior to making the claim, and not lower than the minimum wage. Those re-entering the work force are eligible to receive a benefit not less than the minimum wage for 13 weeks, dropping to 75 per cent of the minimum wage for an additional 13 weeks. Temporary disability allowances are paid in full by the employer and range from between 60 per cent to 100 per cent of employee wages, to a minimum not lower than the minimum wage. If the disability extends longer than four months, permanent disability benefits under the national pension scheme can be accessed. Uzbekistan’s social insurance system also provides coverage for work related injuries to all employed persons on a cost sharing basis between the employee and employer, with contributions of 2.5 per cent and 31 per cent respectively. Due to the universal and largely non-contributory nature of the social insurance system, coverage reaches close to 100 per cent of all active working-age citizens.
Uzbekistan’s social insurance system dates back to 1955 with the introduction of the first temporary disability benefit. More recently the social insurance law has gone through amendments in 1992 and 1998 in order to expand coverage to all during unemployment. While the social insurance system is highly accessible and provides comprehensive coverage, some challenges remain in state financing and overlap with other existing programmes toward social assistance. Still, schemes within the social insurance receive very high levels of state support, are universal in nature, and form part of Uzbekistan’s social protection floor, ensuring that all those citizens of working-age have access to basic income security.
Further Reading:
Asian Development Bank (2012). Uzbekistan: Updating and Improving the Social Protection Index. Accessed from http://www.adb.org/projects/documents/uzbekistan-updating-and-improving-social-protection-index-tacr on 19 December 2013.