When the social security system was established in 1945, ‘old-age’ insurance was synonymous with a pension. The main social risk considered at the time to be associated with this stage of life was that of poverty, as people had become too old to continue working and were therefore unable to support themselves through income from employment. The aim of the protection was therefore to provide a stable income, intended to provide funding for day-to-day needs, for life – that is to say, guaranteed until death, regardless of the age at which this occurred. At that time, what we now refer to as support for independent living did not fall within the scope of social security. It remained confined to the sphere of social assistance for the most destitute, and, in the aftermath of the Second World War, was still primarily governed by the 1905 Act ‘on compulsory assistance for the elderly, the disabled and the terminally ill who lack means ’.
Things have certainly changed since then
