Publication: Timor-Leste Social Protection Review
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2022-04-01
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2025-03-04
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Since it became the first new sovereign state of the 21st century on May 20, 2002, the Government of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste has demonstrated commendable leadership in rebuilding the country’s economy with reasonably steady degrees of poverty reduction. The nation’s unwavering commitment to social protection is reflected in a national system providing many benefits and services. These programs included pensions for veterans, the elderly, and the disabled and a conditional cash transfer program targeting vulnerable households with children. Other benefits and services were introduced in due course, such as disaster recovery programs, child protection services, emergency support to individuals and vulnerable families, support services to gender-based and domestic violence victims, and support to prisoners. In 2016, a national contributory social security general scheme was launched, mandatory for employed workers and voluntary for self-employed and independent workers. This report presents an in-depth analysis of Timor-Leste’s social protection system, which builds on the World Bank’s long-standing analytical and advisory support for the Ministry of Social Solidarity and Inclusion. Envisioned as inputs to Timor-Leste’s National Strategy for Social Protection, this report also serves as a deep-dive into the recently launched Timor-Leste Public Expenditure Review, and it does so by providing extensive analysis of the effectiveness and efficiency of Timor-Leste ’ss social protection spending. The analysis also looks into the existing programs' coverage, adequacy, and delivery mechanisms as the basis for policy recommendations that the Government of Timor-Leste could consider in implementing the country’s first National Strategy for Social Protection.
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“World Bank. 2022. Timor-Leste Social Protection Review. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/42901 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO.”
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Publication Timor-Leste Social Assistance : Public Expenditure and Program Performance Report(Washington, DC, 2013-06-24)The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste is a young, post-conflict nation endowed with significant oil revenues. Timor-Leste has one of the highest birth rates in the world (2.41 percent population growth) with over 44 percent of the population below 15 years of age (Timor-Leste Census, 2010). Since the 2006 crisis, the Government of Timor-Leste has shown a clear commitment to social assistance. Globally, poverty persistence is closely related to major life-cycle disadvantages resulting in low human capital outcomes, and yet large-scale poverty remains unaddressed by current social protection efforts. This expenditure review and performance evaluation report is part of the technical assistance provided to Timor-Leste's Ministry of Social Solidarity (MSS) in response to the lack of any national level evaluation of the safety nets system since its inception. To that end, this study seeks to assess the social assistance policy, as well as the performance of the main MSS social assistance programs. More specifically, the aims are to: (1) determine whether existing programs are efficient, effective and sufficient in addressing main vulnerabilities; (2) assess the adequacy and composition of the allocation of financial resources for delivery of government social assistance; (3) review operational and administrative issues; and (4) make recommendations for improving the delivery of social safety nets. Some of the questions that this report seeks to answer include: what are the main risks facing the vulnerable groups in Timor-Leste?; what types of programs are in place to address those risks?; is the range of programs and their financial allocations appropriate for the country's needs?; is the institutional arrangement adequate?; are these programs effective and reaching the intended beneficiaries?; and are they implemented cost-effectively? The report is organized as follows: chapter one gives context, purpose and conceptual framework. Chapter two describes the attributes of the poorest 40 percent and the main vulnerabilities and risks that low-income families in Timor-Leste face. Chapter three provides a historical overview of the social assistance policy and programs that emerged after the 2006-2007 conflict. A summary of levels and trends in aggregate public expenditure on safety nets, composition of spending as well as program-specific budget analysis is presented in chapter four. Chapter five assesses performance of the safety nets by analyzing coverage, targeting effectiveness, and generosity. Chapter six examines impact and targeting efficiency using simulation techniques. Chapter seven assesses implementation capacity, and business processes, and in particular, the following: ID systems, enrollment, payments arrangements and monitoring and evaluation. Chapter eight concludes with implications for social response and policy considerations.Publication Sub-National Spending in Timor-Leste : Lessons from Experience(Washington, DC, 2014-11)This Policy Note distils the findings and recommendations of a Study, jointly undertaken by the World Bank and the Government of Timor-Leste, that evaluates the mechanisms used by the Government to manage sub-national spending in recent years: i) the Local Development Program (Programa Dezenvolvimentu Lokal, PDL), underway since 2004; and ii) the Referendum Package (Pakote Referendum, PR), initiated in 2009, and progressively refined as the Decentralized Development Program (Programa de Dezenvolvimentu Desentralizadu, PDD) since 2010. The Study assesses how these programs have performed in respect of a number of key government policy priorities and draws conclusions and lessons for the future. It adopts a dynamic approach, so as to adequately acknowledge and account for how shifts in the government s policy priorities over time, in response to the changing context, were reflected in the institutional arrangements that govern sub-national spending.Publication Review of the Actuarial Forecasts of the Proposed Contributory Social Security Regime in Timor-Leste(Jakarta, 2014-09-14)This report briefly summarizes the results for the analysis of the design, financing and administrative processes for a national social security system covering all salaried workers in Timor-Leste, including analysis of the actuarial report (ACL Report) prepared for the Directorate General of Social Security by its consultant. The report is divided into seven sections: (i) Scope of Work; (ii) ACL Report Assumptions and Methods Comment; (iii) ACL Plan Design Comments; (iv) PROST Analysis: ACL Report Design, Assumptions and Methods; (v) PROST Analysis: ACL Report Design, Bank Assumptions and Methods; (vi) Social Security Pension Fund Establishment; and (vii) Conclusion. In the final analysis it was determined that the ACL report does not meet international standards for actuarial reports for national social insurance systems. Furthermore it misrepresents the long-term costs of the proposed Timor-Leste national social security system by using non-standard assumptions and methods and an unusually short analysis period. It is suggested that the government of Timor-Leste carefully consider all aspects of design and funding before adopting the new system, as the decisions made will have very significant macroeconomic, labor market, budget, and social policy implications for the country for decades to come.Publication Creation of a Reformed Pension System for Civil Servants in Timor-Leste(Washington, DC, 2014-02)In February 2011, the government of Timor-Leste (GoTL) enacted a law creating a pension system for civil servants. However, the government now wants to repeal and replace this pension law as it deems it too broad in scope, coverage and cost, and it contains several non-standard design features. In its place, the GoTL wants to consider creating a reformed permanent civil service pension program covering all civil servants. Within a few years thereafter, the government also wants to implement a national social security system. This system will cover formal sector workers, and it is likely civil servants will also participate. Consequently, civil servants may get benefits from both the national social security system and the civil service pension system. Timor-Leste has many civil servants with long service both before and after independence. The reformed pension system for civil servants will give the government a method of honorably allowing its elderly civil servants to exit the work force. At this time, the primary method of caring for elderly civil servants is to continue salary payments. This is because there is no mandatory retirement age for civil servants and the government does not yet have effective procedures for compelling older workers to retire when their productivity level declines. Consequently, the government has informed us that the civil service pension is unlikely to pay benefits to any civil servants until such time as these two issues are resolved. The government estimates this will take five years (until 2018). Until that time, elderly civil servants will continue to receive their salary and will not receive a pension from the reformed civil service pension program.Publication Helping South Asia Cope with Natural Disasters : The Role of Social Protection(Washington, DC, 2007-09)Addressing the social protection needs of households during emergencies is a major development issue. Without social protection measures, such as cash transfers for basic needs or workfare programs, many households faced with large economic and natural shocks might deplete their human and physical capital, reducing their ability to participate in economic development. Social protection measures (cash transfers, in particular) are therefore assuming a growing role in the World Bank to help the poor cope with the aftermath of a disaster. In South Asia, all three recent major emergency-related operations in South Asia (Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Pakistan) included cash transfers components. This discussion paper, an input to the South Asia region's social protection and hazard risk management strategies, describes the cash transfer instruments supported by the Bank in South Asia, evaluates their design and implementation, and suggests improvements to increase their effectiveness. Based on available evidence, the paper finds that cash transfers appear to have performed well in providing relief to affected households, suggesting that they should remain an integral part of Bank-financed support for natural disasters. The paper also suggests that the Bank can ensure timely and high-quality support through a best-practice design toolkit, a right-on-time technical assistance facility, and by integrating social protection in emergency preparedness by building the capacity of national social assistance (cash transfers) agencies to respond to natural disasters. Although the focus is on cash transfers, the note also discusses other types of social protection mechanisms used in emergencies in South Asia and worldwide, e.g., workfare or social care for the vulnerable, and which might also appropriate for including in Bank emergency operations. The note covers South Asia, but lessons from this region may also be relevant for governments of other developing countries and donors. Finally, while the focus of the paper is on social protection instruments for natural disasters, several of these instruments have also proved useful in post-conflict situations and in economic crises.
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