Social conditions
National insurance and other insurance schemes
The National Insurance Act came into force on 1 January 1967, superceding a number of previous social security schemes and applying with very few exceptions to the entire population. The aim of national insurance is to provide benefits in the event of sickness, pregnancy, childbirth, unemployment, old age, disability and death of the family breadwinner. The scheme also offers financial support to single-parent families. Short-term benefits due to illness or unemployment vary according to income, while pension allowances are calculated on the basis of a basic amount which is adjusted annually by the Storting. Pension allowances consist of a basic pension which can be supplemented by an extra amount depending on previous earnings (pension points). Special allowances may be claimed in certain circumstances and dependent children and/or spouses may also give grounds for supplementary payments.
The Health Insurance Act of 1911 was the forerunner of the present sickness insurance scheme. Initially, the scheme was limited to those with small earnings but by 1956 it had been gradually extended to include all income groups. Health insurance was integrated in the national insurance scheme from 1 January 1971 and covers sickness allowances, confinement benefits and medical benefits. As of 1 July 1978, sickness allowances were set at 100 per cent of gross income. Employers pay for the first 14 days of sickness; the statistics do not include payments made during this period.
Confinement benefits are paid in the form of a lump-sum to women with no earned income and as compensation to women in employment for income lost during maternity leave. Maternity leave was increased from 8 weeks in 1916 to 12 weeks in 1971 and 33 weeks in 1992. Support for medical services consists of a framework of subsidies to county and municipal authorities, reimbursement to doctors and dentists, convalescent homes, spa treatment, transport for the sick, medicaments, nursing aids and appliances. Since 1991 the costs of county health and social services have been part of the central government budget. These costs are not included in the figures given in table 7.1.
Unemployment benefits are payable to able-bodied persons who are involuntarily unemployed, provided the individual concerned has been in receipt of income of a certain amount during the year prior to becoming unemployed. Unemployment insurance, which was introduced in 1938, was replaced by unemployment benefits and incorporated in the National Insurance Scheme as of 1 January 1971. Unemployment benefits consist of a daily allowance and other assistance, such as meeting the cost of moving to and settling down at a new place of work, grants for learning a new trade and other measures to stimulate the labour market.
Rehabilitation allowances are payable to those who, as a result of illness, injury or incapacity, have a permanently reduced capacity for work or are significantly restricted in their choice of work or place of employment. Rehabilitation allowances were introduced in 1960 and were incorporated in the National Insurance Scheme in 1967.
In 1967 old age pension replaced the previous old age insurance scheme which dated from 1936 and up until 1957 was based on a means test. In 1973 the retirement age was reduced from 70 to 67, but with the right to postpone drawing a pension until 70 years of age. The lowering of the retirement age in 1973 led to a great increase in the number of old age pensioners, but at the same time to a reduction in the number of persons between the ages of 67 and 70 receiving disability and survivors' pensions, as they now became eligible for old age pensions.
Disability pensions are payable to all persons between the ages of 16 and 67 with a permanently reduced capacity for work as a result of sickness, injury or incapacity. As early as 1936 temporary measures were introduced to provide assistance to the blind and disabled, but these were replaced in 1960 by a general disability insurance scheme which in turn became part of the National Insurance Scheme of 1967.
Survivors' benefits are payable to those under 67 years of age who have no means of support andcovers surviving spouses, children and other survivors responsible for the care of the family. Survivors' benefits were made part of the National Insurance Scheme of 1967, replacing earlier allowances for surviving children from 1957 and widows' allowances from 1964.
Unmarried, divorced and separated family supporters who are prevented from earning a living because of children who have to be looked after, are eligible for temporary benefits. Grants for unmarried mothers were included in the National Insurance Scheme of 1967, replacing mothers' pension from 1964. Divorced and separated family supporters were brought into the scheme as of 1 January 1981.
War pensions payable to those who suffered injury or illness as a result of military action were introduced by law in 1946. These pensions are administered by the National Insurance Scheme.
Pension insurance schemes for forestry workers and fishermen, introduced in 1952 and 1958 respectively, consist mainly of pensions to persons under the age of 67. The retirement age is 63 for forestry workers and 62 for fishermen. Both pensions are administered by the National Insurance Scheme.
Pension insurance for seamen was introduced in 1949 and covers all Norwegian citizens and foreign nationals resident in Norway who are employed on Norwegian vessels. The retirement age for seamen is 60. Pension insurance for seamen is coordinated with the National Insurance Scheme for persons over 67 years of age.
The Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund was established in 1917 and covers all central government employees. The benefits include old age pension, disability pension, widows' and widowers' pensions and children's benefits. Where pensioners over the age of 67 are concerned, the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund is coordinated with the National Insurance Scheme.
The Municipal Insurance Company was established in 1949 and administers almost all the special pension schemes for local government employees. The benefits are comparable to those offered by the Public Service Pension Fund to central government employees.
Income for the National Insurance Scheme has consistently come from three main sources: employees' membership premiums, statutory contributions from employers and allocations from central and local government funds. The pension arrangements which the National Insurance Scheme is set to administer have their own separate accounts and do not feature in the income statistics for the National Insurance Scheme.
Family allowances are payable to everybody in Norway with children under 16 years of age to support. Up until 1969 no allowance was paid for the first child, except in the case of single parents. Ever since 1946 the latter have also received an allowance for one more child than they in fact support. Family allowances were introduced in 1946 and are administered by the National Insurance Scheme.
Public assistance and social care
Statistics concerning public assistance have been compiled since 1866 and were the responsibility of the Ministry of Church and Education up until 1881 when Statistics Norway took over. In 1965 public assistance was replaced by social care in accordance with the Social Care Act of 1964. Social care is meant to be a flexible arrangement, supplementing the national insurance system and meeting the financial needs of those who fall outside the scope of the social security services or who require financial assistance in addition to standard allowances or earned income.
Child welfare
Statistics concerning child welfare were compiled by the Ministry of Church and Education from 1900 to 1915 and from then on by Statistics Norway. Before the introduction of the Child Welfare Act of 1953, responsibility was divided locally among three different bodies; the Child Custody Board, the Public Assistance Board and the Board of Health. The Child Welfare Act required municipal child welfare authorities to keep a watchful eye on the living conditions of children and young people and to take steps to improve child welfare within the municipality. Preventive measures play a central role in the new Act. Child welfare statistics also reveal a clear division between preventive measures on the one hand and active care on the other. Where children have been taken into care, the statistics register their placement in a foster family or a children's home.
Kindergartens
Since 1963 statistics relating to kindergartens have been compiled each year by Statistics Norway and are based on annual reports for each individual kindergarten sent for control purposes to the relevant ministerial department. Details of each institution, the children and the staff were initially given for the month of October, but more recently have been collected on either 15 or 31 December.
From 1963 to 1991 the number of children attending kindergarten increased 18-fold, from 8 500 to 150 000.
The number of children registered has risen throughout the entire 27-year period but the increase was particularly marked in the years from 1977 to 1979 and from 1989 to 1991. In these two 3-year periods the number of children registered in kindergartens rose by 35 000 and 32 000, respectively.
Adoptions
The first adoption statistics produced in 1963 contained total adoption figures going back to 1960. Since then annual statistics have been compiled. Initially the basis for these statistics consisted of the notices of approvals to adopt submitted to the Ministry of Justice. Since 1966 the statistics have been based on the number of adoptions filed with the population registers.
Home-help services
Statistics Norway has compiled statistics concerning home help since 1962, although in the early years only home nursing and housewife's substitute services were included. Home-help for the elderly and disabled was not registered until 1965. Details of home nursing have traditionally been treated as part of the health statistics. Once, however, the municipal health and social services were reorganised in 1988 under a joint committee, it was natural to coordinate the statistics relating to home-help services. Nevertheless, in this present publication the figures for home nursing are presented in the chapter on health, while we confine ourselves here to the figures for the housewife's substitute service and home help for the elderly and disabled.
Alcohol statistics
In 1910 Statistics Norway conducted an investigation into the production and consumption of spirits, wine and beer going back to 1814. Annual statistics concerning alcohol have been compiled since 1908. The Norwegian Wine and Spirit Monopoly (A/S Vinmonopolet) began operating in 1923, thus making possible more accurate calculations as to the consumption of wine and spirits. Since 1932 the use of alcohol for technical and medicinal purposes has been omitted from the figures. Statistics relating to licences granted for the sale of spirits, wines and beer date back to 1928 and include annual municipal licences and the licences granted by the Ministry of Social Affairs to tourist hotels and mountain resorts.
Public expenditure for social purposes
Overall statistics relating to the use of public funds for social purposes are compiled by the Nordic Social Statistics Committee, which was established in 1946 to coordinate social statistics in the Nordic countries. The committee publishes its statistics under the title Social Security in the Nordic Countries. The first issue in 1951 contained figures relating to 1948 and the publication has since appeared every 2 to 4 years.
From 1948 to 1990 expenditure for social purposes increased substantially throughout the whole period. Expressed in terms of 1985 Norwegian currency, the cost of the social services in 1948 represented 6.2 milliard but by 1990 had increased more than 20 times to 142 milliard. The cost per head of the population shows a comparable rise from 2 200 kroner in 1948 to 33 500 kroner in 1990. The proportion of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) represented by social expenditure has increased from 7 per cent to 29 per cent in the course of these 40 years.
This drastic increase in expenditure for social purposes is a consequence of the expansion of the social services, the introduction of the National Insurance Scheme in 1967 representing a milestone in this respect. In addition improved home-help services for the elderly, including home nursing and domestic assistance, have cost a great deal. The provision of more kindergartens has also been a central feature of the last two decades.