Author Dr. Bernd Schulte/Location: Munich
From the historical perspective the term „invalidity“ relates to a decline in income that is meant to be compensated. The term is used in international provisions, e. g. in the Conven-tion No. 152 concerning Minimum Standards of Social Security enacted by the General Con-ference of the International Labour Organisation (“Übereinkommen Nr. 102 der Internation-alen Arbeitsorganisation über Mindestnormen der sozialen Sicherheit von 1952“). However, benefits granted in case of long-term incapacity have different goals: They are supposed to compensate the beneficiary for a decline in income, provide adequate replacement earnings, or guarantee a minimum living wage.
The benefits vary from country to country, regarding personal scope, eligibilty criteria, „gen-erosity“ of benefits, rehabilitation and reintegration, (financial) structure of other protection systems (interconnection between benefit systems covering sickness, unemployment, and old-age), and, last but not least, the effectiveness to prevent discrimination against disabled persons.
The reform measures taken in the Netherlands since the 80s (restriction of replacement earnings, restrictive definition and handling of eligibilty criteria, and relevance of the remain-ing employability on the so called “general employment market”) were important steps to limit the number of long-term incapacity benefits and, thereby, alleviate the so called “Dutch Dis-ease”. The tightening of prerequisites in the sense of a concentration on medical criteria was another measure to limit the number of beneficiaries.
Yet it must be taken into consideration that the situation on the employment market is one of the most important economic factors with relevance for the intregration of disabled persons. A policy focusing on activation instead of annuitization must concentrate its attention on the integration of disabled persons into the employment market. This is in accordance with the remaining employability on the so called “general employment market” as a prerequisite for a long-term incapacity benefit, and with the limitation or even abolition of pensions owing to vocational disability. The increasing involvement of employers in the fields of prevention and rehabilitation is justified, because the working environment (design of the workplace, behav-iour of the employer) has a significant impact regarding the causation of invalidity. Last but not least, gender aspects and the European development must be considered.
