Social security can remain out of reach for workers when joining a scheme costs more than they can afford or the rules do not reflect how they earn a living. An International Labour Organization (ILO) report calls for measures that help workers move into formal employment, strengthen their protection and make social security schemes easier to access, drawing on experiences from China, Kenya and the Lao People's Democratic Republic.
The report, Expanding social security coverage in the informal economy: China's experience and lessons, examines how the three countries have developed their systems, extended coverage and improved digital administration. Their shared challenges include widespread informal employment, complicated employment relationships, limited capacity among some workers to pay social insurance contributions and relatively high costs of participating in formal schemes.
Making protection affordable and easier to access
China's experience points to the value of combining social insurance funded through contributions with publicly financed or subsidized arrangements, giving workers with limited means more opportunities to obtain protection. Lowering the barriers to participation requires attention to both what people can afford and whether existing schemes accommodate their working arrangements, particularly for those in flexible employment and newer forms of work.
More flexible routes into social security can help schemes reach people whose employment does not fit conventional arrangements. The report identifies these changes as useful lessons for developing countries, where extending coverage requires systems that respond to workers' circumstances and support their transition to formality. Affordable participation, accessible services and stronger worker protection are connected parts of that effort.
Digital services and pilots offer practical lessons
Unified service platforms, electronic credentials and online processing are among the tools China has used to reduce administrative costs and improve efficiency. Their importance lies in making social security services easier to use, with fewer obstacles between workers and the schemes available to them. The report cites China's comprehensive rollout of electronic social security cards as an experience that has helped expand coverage.
Pilot programmes provide another way to test how protection can reach workers in changing labour markets before extending an approach more widely. China's pilot occupational injury protection programme for workers in new forms of employment is highlighted as a successful example. For countries developing their own systems, such programmes offer an opportunity to gather evidence, assess results and use those findings to guide wider expansion.
Kenya and Laos need approaches suited to their workers
For Kenya and the Lao People's Democratic Republic, the report suggests strengthening basic protection that does not depend on contributions alongside contributory social insurance. Targeted subsidies or contribution support could make participation more affordable for low-income and vulnerable groups, with digital payments and mobile services helping reduce administration and service-delivery costs. Gradually extending coverage through pilots and evidence-based evaluation would allow each country to shape reforms around its needs and capacity.
Tian Feng, manager of the ILO/China Partnership Programme, stressed that differences in labour markets, institutions, public finances and digital capacity mean countries cannot follow a single model. The report's lessons require adaptation to national circumstances, with institutional reform, adequate financing, stronger administration and digital transformation advancing together to reach more workers.
The China Association of Social Security conducted the study under the ILO/China project supporting informal workers in Kenya and the Lao People's Democratic Republic through South–South cooperation and digital transformation. Running from 2023 to 2026, the project supported policy dialogue, capacity-building, technical cooperation and digital tool development, helping the two countries strengthen their efforts to extend social protection.
