If one was considering moving to a different country to live, it could be a difficult decision to make. When determining to move to a different location, one would want to consider a social welfare state. This is a system in which “the government undertakes the chief responsibility for providing for the social and economic security of its population, usually through unemployment insurance, old-age pensions, and other social-security measures” (Social Welfare State). If someone was choosing to move to the United States or Ireland, it would be based on who has the better social welfare state. When comparing the United States and Ireland, overall the healthcare, education system, and the old age pensions are better in Ireland than the United States.

 Ireland would be the ideal location to live in rather than the US when factoring healthcare. Although the United States has very well-trained doctors, medical assistances, and many local doctors, they do not have universal healthcare or paid maternity leave like Ireland obtains. The United States is extremely expensive when it comes to healthcare and medical insurance, they even spend the most on healthcare. According to phschool, the US spends 16.2% of the GDP of healthcare. In the US, “An emergency room visit typically is covered by health insurance. For patients covered by health insurance, out-of-pocket cost for an emergency room visit typically consists of a copay, usually $50-$150 or more, which often is waived if the patient is admitted to the hospital. Depending on the plan, costs might include coinsurance of 10% to 50%. For patients without health insurance, an emergency room visit typically costs from $150-$3,000 or more, depending on the severity of the condition and what diagnostic tests and treatment are performed.” (How Much Does an Emergency Room Visit Cost? - CostHelper). While as Ireland has high standards of healthcare as well, medical facilities are not easily available in some rural areas and they have a limited amount of public hospitals. To receive free care, you must show you have an Irish bank account and that you’re a citizen. For certain medical services, you may have to pay, for example, the “average cost of an emergency room visit: a flat fee of €100 (about US$117), unless you have a referral from your doctor, in which case it’s free….Public healthcare is free, in that you don’t have to pay into a specific state insurance policy: it’s primarily funded through taxation. And if you qualify for a Medical Card, almost all public medical services are free to use as well. If you don’t qualify for a card there are costs for general practitioner (GP) visits, hospital stays, drugs and some other services, although the rates are subsidized.” (TransferWise). If someone wanted a great healthcare system, they should move to Ireland over the United States.

When ranking education systems, the US is lower on the chart than Ireland. A child in Ireland will go to school from the age of 6 to 16 years old from 9am to 3/4pm. Ireland provides children with a free education system. They begin in primary schools, which are run by religious institutions or a board management that is funded by the state.  Not every child will attend a public school, instead they could go to a private school, but you would have to pay to go. Next a child would attend a secondary school after around the age of 12 years old. This is where they study higher education. Following this, the child will go to the third level, which involves college and institutions. Schools in Ireland provide disadvantaged children to learn. The quality of education is very high. Ireland is ranked the sixth best education system in the world. Irish schools are proved to learn more subjects and lessons and they are only tested twice to pass school. Along with that, “the quality of Ireland’s education is said to be better than that of both the UK and US” (Focus, Expat). While compared with the United States, their government gives funding to each state, but 95% of education funding is provided from the state, local taxes, and property taxes. A parent of a child will take them to a preschool, so they learn before they go into public school. After this, a child will attend kindergarten, then to first grade, and then all the way up to twelfth grade until the age of 16 to 18 years old having 6 to 7-hour days. The US is one of the three countries that does not give a final national examination. The students will take SAT-testing in hopes to get a good score and get accepted to colleges of their choosing. Unlike schools in Ireland, schools in the US keep religion out of public schools. It is said to have a separation in the state and church. Although the United States has a good education system, a parent should choose schools in Ireland because they are free and have a better education system.

 If one was thinking about retiring, they would be better off as a resident of Ireland than a resident of the United States. In the US, social insurance gives a maximum monthly pension, at the normal retirement age, of $2,687 (EU €2346.08). Deferred pension increased by 8% for each year of deferred up to the age of 70. In a couple, 50% of the old age pension is paid to a spouse or a divorced spouse who has reached the normal retirement age, or that is caring for a child. The maximum pension combined for a family is anywhere from 100-180% of the insured old age pension. For social assistance, one can be given around $735 (EU €643.90) a month, and & $1,105 (EU €968.04) a month for a couple. In Ireland, Social insurance gives a weekly €238.30 (US$ 272.01). They also can give an additional €10 (US$ 11.41) a week if you’re 80 years or older, and €9 (US $ 10.27) a week if 66 years or older and living alone. For dependent supplements, one can get €158.80 (US $181.27) a week if younger than 66 years old, and up to €213.50 (US$ 243.71) a week if 66 years or older. When having social assistance, one can get €227 (US$ 259.12) a week, and an additional €10 (US$ 11.41) a week if you’re 80 years or older, and €9 (US$ 10.27) a week if 66 years or older and living alone. For dependent supplement, you can get €150 (US$171.22) a week. Although a United States retired citizen would receive more money than an Irish citizen, the cost of living is drastically different. Taxations are dissimilar between these countries, and this results in Americans paying more for living than Irish citizen would. In fact, about 7% of pensioners in Ireland are in poverty, compared to roughly 22% of pensioners in America are in poverty. As a result, a retired individual would be better off living in Ireland, having less of a chance of being in poverty, to living in the United States.

When looking at the social welfare states, Ireland is the superior area to move to than the United States. When factoring healthcare, education, and old age pensions, Ireland is the ideal location to move to. Not only will this country save you money, it will also give you a better education. Overall, Ireland is the picture-perfect location to live when considering social welfare.

Bibliography

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