Social insurance benefits go digital as processing speeds up by 70 per cent

Applications for key social insurance benefits are being processed up to 70 per cent faster following the rollout of new digital services, Deputy Research Minister Nicodimos Damianou said on Tuesday, as reported by Cyprus Mail.

The online services now cover paternity, maternity, childbirth, parental leave and funeral allowances, along with a new insured profile that gives members of the public a single point of access to their own applications and records. Applications for disability pension, widow's pension, disability allowance and benefits for people with thalassaemia can also be submitted online.

Labour and Social Insurance Minister Marinos Mousiouttas called the digital transformation "an investment for the coming decades," saying it translates into "fewer documents, less travel, faster processing of applications and a better service experience for the citizen." He added that "the real measure of the success of any reform is not how advanced the technology is, but how much easier it makes the lives of the people who use it."

Mousiouttas said social security is "one of the most important pillars of the welfare state" and that the overhaul was designed entirely "with the citizen at the centre." Paternity, maternity and childbirth benefits were brought online progressively over the past two years, with parental leave and funeral allowances — neither previously available electronically — added most recently.

Damianou said the new system sits at the heart of the government's wider digital transformation effort and is now being expanded to support the incoming pension reform, describing it as "the largest and most extensive digital transformation programme we have ever implemented as a state." He also pointed to the shift to electronic payment of social insurance contributions through the CY Login identification system, which continues to attract new users each month. Acknowledging difficulties some have faced with payments, he said district office cash desks will remain open and staff will continue to help those who need assistance.