entitlement

government assistance

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Franklin Delano Roosevelt seated at a desk signing the Social Security bill, surrounded by a group of men and one woman watching.

U.S. Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt signing the Social Security Act, August 14, 1935.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

entitlement, generally, any government-provided or government-managed benefit or service to which some or all individuals are entitled by law. The term is also but less frequently applied to benefits provided by employers to employees unilaterally or as mandated by law or by contract (see fringe benefit). Among government-provided or government-managed entitlements in the United States, some have been means-tested (Medicaid, Aid to Families with Dependent Children [AFDC], and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps), while others have been available to most or all people independent of means (social security and Medicare). Legally mandated employer-provided benefits have included workers’ compensation and unpaid leave for family and medical reasons. With passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act (PRWORA) in 1996, most needs-based assistance programs, including AFDC, were replaced by state-controlled systems funded by federal block grants. (See also social insurance; welfare.)

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