Social Security Organization

The Social Security Organization (SSO) is a social insurance organization in Iran which provides coverage of wage-earners and salaried workers as well as voluntary coverage of self-employed persons. In 1975, the laws Social Security Law was approved and the SSO was established.

Iran did not legislate in favor of a universal social protection, but in 1996, the Center for Statistics of Iran estimated that more than 73% of the Iranian population was covered by social security. Membership in the social security system is compulsory for all employees.

SSO is a non-governmental organization and it is solely financed by contributions (with the participation of insured (7%), employer (20–23%) and government (3%)). Social protection is extended to the self-employed workers, who voluntarily contribute between 12% and 18% of income depending on the protection sought. Civil servants, the regular military, Law Enforcement Force of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran's second major military organization, have their own pension systems.