Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the Social Security Program for the Elderly in Improving Living Welfare

Abstract

This study evaluates how social security programs for older adults improve multidimensional life well-being and why impacts vary across beneficiaries and implementation settings. Using a qualitative explanatory case study design, the research was conducted in the Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia, focusing on urban and peri-urban communities to capture variation in service access and delivery conditions. Thirty-two informants were purposively selected to maximise diversity in vulnerability profiles and perspectives, including 18 older beneficiaries, six family caregivers, and eight implementation and service actors. Qualitative methods were chosen to examine lived experiences of adequacy, payment reliability, administrative accessibility, and the conversion of benefits into health, autonomy, and social participation. Findings indicate that social security support most consistently improves basic stability and psychosocial security by reducing daily financial stress and enabling limited planning. Health-related improvements were more conditional, strengthening where transport, caregiving support, and accessible primary care facilitated utilisation and chronic disease management. The study recommends improving punctuality and clarity of payments, simplifying administrative procedures for older adults with functional limitations, and strengthening linkage between income support and health and care services to reduce the gap between entitlements and lived welfare.