Use of Administrative Data from the Social Security Information System

Abstract

The Personal Information Protection Act, as amended in January 2020, allows through pseudonymization for the use of administrative data stored on the social security information system for statistical records, scientific research, and public interest purposes. Despite the legal framework in place, however, the use of administrative data remains limited to an extent due to the unclear and complicated procedures for combining and using pseudonymized data. This article examines specific examples of how pseudonymized social security administrative data has been used and combined and discusses what should be done to further the use of pseudonymized data. This study points out the need for creating a complete list of all the data that can be obtained from the social security information system and providing metadata for these data sets, enhancing people’s understanding of and capacity for using social security administrative data, and establishing an integrated dataset that allows for information retention. Most important of all is to establish an evidence-based system of policy evaluation and planning that takes account of the findings of policy research using social security administrative data.