In accordance with the SEEPROS Manual the expenses of the Social Welfare system may be classified with the following headings:

• Social Services
• Administrative Expenditure
• Transfer to other systems
• Other expenses
  • Income from property
  • Others

Social benefits constitute the nucleus of the statistic. They are payments, both in cash and in kind, that households receive from the social protection systems and that are supplied directly, i.e. they represent an increase equivalent to the disposable income of the beneficiary.

The ESSPROS methodology foresees the classification of social benefits in accordance tith different criteria. The first of these criteria classifies the benefits in eight function. In each of these eight functions several types of benefit may be distinguished, specified in general by the function itself.

Besides this classification by functions and types, ESSPROS proposes two additional criteria of a transversal nature.

• The first of the two criteria divides the benefits in benefits in cash, benefits in kind, and reassigned contributions. Benefits in cash are paid in cash and do not require the recipients to justify an expense paid out. Benefits in kind acquire the form of goods or services supplied directly, or reimbursement for payments that beneficiaries previously made for the acquisition of the goods and services.
• The second criteria distinguishes benefits whose receipt is subordinated to a control of the beneficiary's resources (under control of resources), from those that are not (without control of resources).
  

Administrative expenditure derives from the management and administration of protection systems.

Transfers are payments without compensation to other social protection systems.

Other expenditure is included in property income which corresponds mainly to payment for interest and other expenditure that cannot be classified under the above headings.