Peru has four systems providing health protection: the social health insurance system, the comprehensive health insurance system (under the ministry of Health), the Armed Forces and national police health system and the private insurances. According to national household survey (ENAHO) data, the total enrolment in social health protection programmes, through the social health insurance system (EsSalud), healthcare providers, the Armed Forces, the police and the comprehensive health insurance system amounted to 10.6 million persons in 2006. Of these persons, 45% had contributory coverage.

In 2006, the combined contributory coverage of EsSalud, the healthcare providers, the Armed Forces and the police reached 5.8 million persons, i.e., around 20% of Peru’s population. Contributory health insurance coverage as a proportion of the employed working-age population was at its lowest level in 2003-2004, with 17.2%. From there it showed a slight improvement and reached 20.2% in 2009.

The pension systems in Peru are the national pension system (ONP) and the private system for administration of pension funds (AFP). Enrolment is compulsory for dependent workers and optional for independent workers. Workers have to choose one of the two schemes, and their choice excludes enrolment in the other. According to a 2006 study conducted by the ILO, the rate of premium payment in the Peruvian pension system is 50%, for ONP affiliates as well as AFP affiliates. Peru has approximately 2.2 million inhabitants over 65, around 500,000 of whom receive an old-age, disability or survivor’s pension. The total rate of coverage for elderly persons is therefore around 23%. Compared with the current coverage rate for working premium-payers, this indicator clearly shows the reduction in contributory coverage for the Peruvian pension system over the past decade and a half.

The concept of “high-risk work” has been popular in Peru, implying that not all work entails professional risk, and leading to legal protection only for a minority of “high-risk” jobs. The coverage rate for the employed working-age population by the additional job risk insurance SCTR went up 1.5 percentage points from 2003 (when it was at a historical low) to 2007, and was 4.4% in 2009. This means that despite this slight progress, almost 95% of Peruvian workers are without job risk insurance.

This overview is extracted from the               Global Extension of Social Security platform (GESS) and provided courtesy of the ILO Social Security Department.