II.

TERMS OF REFERENCE

TERMS OF REFERENCE AND SCOPE OF SERVICES

Social Safety Nets Assessment
Individual Consultancy

I. BACKGROUND
The Conditional Cash Transfers (CCT) project’s development objectives are to strengthen
the effectiveness and efficiency of the Republic of Macedonia’s social safety net through
the introduction of conditional cash transfers and improvements in the administration,
oversight, monitoring, and evaluation of social assistance transfers.
By supporting the effectiveness and efficiency of the social safety net and enhancing
human capital links to cash assistance, the project will contribute to the GoM’s ultimate
objectives of alleviating poverty and enhancing human capital, thereby reducing the inter-
generational transmission of poverty over the long run.

Overview of the social security system in the Republic of Macedonia

The social security system in Macedonia is very similar in its structure to the social
security systems existing in OECD countries. The system is split into social insurance and
social assistance.

Social insurance benefits relate to the world of work and are financed by contributions
into special funds from employers and employees. In this group, are pension and
disability insurance benefits, health insurance benefits and unemployment benefits. This
assignment will not cover social insurance benefits.

Social assistance benefits regard the whole population and are financed from general
taxation. These include income support benefits, child benefits, disability benefits and
war veterans’ benefits.
This assignment should be focused on the social benefit and social services system, while
the assessment of the child benefits and services shall be covered by consultant
additionally hired by UNICEF..

The total cost in 2012 of cash SA benefits (including war veterans benefits) was
equivalent to approximately:

 1% GDP
 3.3% Government Expenditure

The number of beneficiaries and total expenditure on cash benefits as a % of GDP have
greatly decreased during the last decade. As shown below, expenditure on cash benefits
has decreased from almost 14% of government expenditure in 1998 to around 3% in
2012.
 Expenditure on Cash Benefits 1998-2012

Expenditure of Cash benefits 1998-2012

18

16

14

12

10

0
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

% of GDP % of Gov.Exp

Social Assistance and the Social Work Centers

The legislation of social assistance in the Republic of Macedonia is fragmented as there

are three different laws ( The Law for Social Protection, Child protection Law and The
Law for Civil Invalids), two programs and more than fifteen rule books regulating cash
benefits.

Currently, Macedonia disposes of at least seventeen different cash benefits administered

by the thirty SWCs. Five of these benefits are means tested and include: social financial
assistance, child allowance, permanent financial assistance, financial assistance to
orphans (18-26) and housing for orphans (18-26). The calculation of household income
for each of this benefit is different and may include or exclude other means-tested or non
means-tested benefits. Two of them are adds-on the social financial assistance - subsidy
for spend energy and conditional cash transfers for secondary school attendance and
subsidized employment. Six of these benefits are targeting persons with disability and
include financial reimbursement for assistance and care, permanent financial assistance,
special allowance for children, civil disability, equalization allowance for care of disabled
child and financial assistance for blindness and mobility.

In the current system of social benefits there are no clear priorities between different type
of benefits and it is not clear whether some of child and disability benefits should or
should not be means-tested. Some of the disability and child benefits are means tasted
some of them are not-means-tested, one of the benefits (e.g. Permanent assistance. ) are
aimed at different group of population such as orphans till 18 years of age, elderly
persons over 65 years of age, pregnant women one months before delivering, disabled
persons, single parents with children up to three years of age.
 

Means- Aimed to /
Number of
All Benefits tested Entity (target
beneficiaries
benefits group)

Poor
population
fit to work
35.450
Social financial assistance Yes Household (below
poverty
threshold)

Children of
poor family
7.301
Child allowance Yes Family At least one
parent is
employed
Person
unable to
Financial reimbursement for 25.327
No Personal perform
assistance and care
basic living
functions
Poor
population
unfit to
Permanent financial 5.788
Yes Family work
assistance
(below
poverty
threshold)
One off Assistance for new Family/ First born 735
No
born babies Personal baby
The
Family/ Family/ 903
One off financial assistance No
Personal Personal in
needs
Children
with
physical,
5.921
Special Allowance for children No Family intellectual
or
combined
disabilities
Civil
victims of
298
Civil disability No Personal weapons
from II W.
war
Equalization allowance for No Family Care of 49
 child with
severe
care of disabled child mental and
physical
disability
children
without
Hosing for children without
Family/ parents and 146
parents and parental care (age Yes
Personal parental
18-26)
care till 18
years
children
without
Financial assistance for
Family/ parents and
children without parents and Yes 10
Personal parental
parental care (age 18-26)
care till 18
years
Parental Allowance for third Mother
10.462
child No Family how give
third birth
The
beneficiary
of
Permanent
Health Insurance for SB
Family/ assistance, 5.935
recipients Yes/No
Personal Special
Allowance
and other
rights/
services
For Foster
children/pe
Foster families allowance rson and 262
No Personal
for the
foster
family
For blind
Financial assistance for
and
blindness and mobility No Personal
immobile
persons
Social
financial
assistance
Subsidy for spend energy Indirectl and 8.835
Household
y yes Permanent
assistance
beneficiarie
s
Conditional cash transfer for Indirectl Social
Personal 7.500
secondary school attendance y yes financial
 assistance

II. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF ASSIGNMENT

General Objective of the assignment is to analyze the existing social benefit and social
services system and provide inputs for reform of social assistance system.

Goal of the assignment is to conduct assessments of coverage, targeting, eligibility, and

registry systems for different cash benefit and social services programs. These
assessments will examine these issues from both the design and implementation
perspectives for a range of cash benefit and social services programs in the safety net and
propose the reform strategy of social safety nets by phases.

The consultant hired under this assignment shall work closely and shall take into
consideration the report that shall be produced by the consultant hired by UNICEF for
assessment of coverage, targeting, eligibility and registry systems for child benefits.

III SCOPE OF SERVICES

1. Comparative analysis in respect to the best European practices in the area of the
Social Welfare Systems (Austria, Germany, Sweden, Belgium, Netherlands,
Estonia, etc)
2. An assessment and analysis of the current Macedonian benefit system, with
specific regard to:
 Incidence of benefits according to beneficiaries socio-demographic
characteristics,
 Amounts and expenditures for individual benefits (% GDP; PPS)
 Work and school incentives set by existing benefits.
 Overview of inclusion and exclusion errors in the social safety net system
(child and social benefits)
All data regarding the child benefits shall be provided by the consultant hired by UNICEF
for assessment of coverage, targeting, eligibility and registry systems for child benefits .

3. Assessments and analysis of the different cash benefit programs (in cooperation
with the UNICEF consultant) shall identify:
 Options for streamlining and simplification of targeting and eligibility
criteria for better consistency and coordination;
 Analysis and proposal for reducing the administrative procedures for
obtaining the Social Welfare System benefits (social and child benefits) (in
cooperation with the UNICEF consultant)
 Analysis and proposal for the possible merging/integrating of all or some
of the cash benefits from the social or/and child protection systems into
consolidated right/s, with a proposal for the needed changes of the Law/s
(in cooperation with the UNICEF consultant)
  Mechanisms for updating and streamlining of current registries of
beneficiaries of the different programs for improved administrative and
cost efficiency; and

 Mechanisms for detecting the possible abuses within the social welfare
system (social and child benefits), by the beneficiaries or the social
workers, with a concrete proposal for a modification in the legislative in
order for these to be avoided.

4. An assessment of existing social services (type and number of services,

beneficiaries, expenditures).

5. Prepare a preliminary concept of a reform (taking into consideration the

suggestions given by the UNICEF consultant) to support better targeting and
overcome exclusion and inclusion errors and re-conditioning of the benefits
including needs for development of new policies, strategies, laws and by-laws.

6. Based on the comments received from the MLSP, the consultant will propose
comprehensive reform of the social safety nets (taking into consideration the
suggestions given by the UNICEF consultant), including child allowances, social
assistance benefits and services to support better targeting and overcome
exclusion and inclusion errors, and the expected impact (regarding fiscal
implications and number of beneficiaries) of the proposed reform.

7. Proposal of a concrete changes in the Law needed for implementation of the

Reform (the proposal needs to be approved by the Minister of Labor and Social
Policy)

8. The consultant will work together with MLSP in preparation of the new Laws
( or changes in the Laws) based on the proposed reform and will help MLSP in
preparation of rule books in order to accelerate and facilitate enforcement of the
Laws.

In order to perform the assessment of the system, the consultant hired under this
assignment will be supported by the MLSP’s staff for collection of data that the State
Statistical office poses and that are not officially published.

IV REPORTING OBLIGATION AND OUTPUTS

The consultant should prepare and deliver the following reports:

1. Comparative analysis in respect to the best European practices in the area of the
Social Welfare Systems (Austria, Germany, Sweden, Belgium, Netherlands,
Estonia, etc)
2. Report on the assessment and analysis of the current Macedonian social cash
benefit system , in line with item 2, Section III “Scope of services “ of this TOR
3. Report on the assessment and analysis of the current Macedonian social cash
benefit system , in line with item 3, Section III “ Scope of services”of this TOR
 4. Report on the assessment and analysis of the existing social services (type and
number of services, beneficiaries).
5. Prepare a preliminary concept of a reform to support better targeting and
overcome exclusion and inclusion errors and re-conditioning of the benefits
including needs for development of new policies, strategies, laws and by-laws
6. Report-concept for a comprehensive reform of the social safety nets, including
child allowance and social assistance benefits to support better targeting and
overcome exclusion and inclusion errors, and the expected impact (regarding
fiscal implications and number of beneficiaries) of the proposed reform.
7. Proposal of a concrete changes in the Law needed for implementation of the
Reform (the proposal needs to be approved by the Minister of Labor and Social
Policy)
8. Report outlining the activities undertaken, the analysis made, and the time spent
during the support in the preparation of the new Laws, respective Rule books 
based on the  new  Laws  (or amendments of the existing Laws)

All reports (outputs) must be accepted by Minister of Labour and Social Policy.

V QUALIFICATIONS & REQUIREMENTS:

 Higher level University degree either in Social sciences (economics, social policy,
sociology and similar) with at least ten (10) years of experience in policy related
work activities;
 Relevant experience in social transfers policy making will be considered as an
advantage;
 Good knowledge in social protection economy and policy;
 Knowledge of the Macedonian public sector and up to date knowledge of the state
of the social protection, education and labour market systems and the on going
and proposed reforms will be considered as an advantage;
 Proven analytical, problem-solving and quantitative skills, including spread sheet
modelling and statistical packages;
 Excellent oral and writing skills in English. Publication track record an advantage.

The selection method is Selection of Individual Consultant (SIC) according to the World
Bank’s Guidelines "Selection and Employment of Consultants by World Bank
Borrowers", edited May 2004, Revised October 2006” available on www.worldbank.org.

VI. DURATION OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The total duration of the assignment is of 6 consultant months distributed over the 12
months period.