Signal OECD report examines social protection financing amid automation-driven work changes

Summary

The OECD published a report on financing social protection, comparing how OECD and EU member countries fund their systems through social insurance contributions, general tax revenues, and private financing. The roughly 98-page report notes that the spread of automation and platform-based non-standard employment is eroding the traditional employment-based model of funding social insurance. As a result, it finds that coverage gaps are emerging for workers pushed into non-standard or informal work. The report surveys ongoing policy debates and country approaches aimed at diversifying and securing the revenue base for social protection as labor markets restructure around AI-driven automation. In doing so, it offers member countries guidance on how funding structures might be adjusted to match changing patterns of employment.