23 Examples of Entitlement Programs

John Spacey, June 28, 2020

An entitlement program is a payment that a government is obliged to make to a person or government department. If this payment isn't paid the beneficiary has legal recourse. This is a way to create social services and support that can't be cancelled in the future. In many cases, those who are eligible for entitlement programs pay into them for many years often in the form of salary deductions. The following are generic examples of entitlement programs followed by specific examples from the United States.

Global

The term entitlement program is heavily associated with the United States. In social market economies such as Luxembourg, Norway, Denmark, Austria, Belgium, France, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Germany and Netherlands similar laws and programs are referred to with different terms such as "social protection." The scope of these programs may include:

Child Benefits	Disability Benefits
Education	Housing
Pensions	Unemployment Insurance
Universal Basic Income	Universal Healthcare Coverage
Veteran Benefits	Workers Compensation

Workers compensation is a program that compensates workers for injuries and health problems related to their work. Employers pay into this and it benefits them because this is an alternative to lawsuits. In other words, workers can choose either to sue or to accept workers compensation.

Child benefits seek to alleviate childhood poverty with monthly payments to parents for each child.

A right to education typically spans K-12. Entitlement programs may go beyond this with free University and College for students below a certain family income. This may only apply to Universities and Colleges that are certified as reputable institutions. Alternatively, this may only apply to public universities and education programs funded by the government.

United States

The term entitlement program is more or less specific to the United States. The following are examples of entitlement programs in the US.

Child Tax Credit	Children’s Health Insurance Program
Medicaid	Medicare
School Lunch Program	Social Security
Social Security Disability Insurance	Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
Supplemental Security Income	Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
Unemployment Insurance	Veterans Benefits
Workers' Compensation Programs

The list above is not exhaustive and doesn't include programs that may exist at the state and local level.

Notes

Entitlement program is defined by the U.S. Senate as follows.

A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled.
~ U.S. Senate: Glossary Term | Entitlement, Web, Retrieved June 26, 2020

Overview: Entitlement Program
Type	Social Market Economy
Definition	A payment that a government is obliged to make to a person or government department.
Related Concepts	Social Market Economy » Right »