In this paper I offer a conceptualisation of social security and income redistribution schemes which highlights the strong overlaps between the two. Indeed, it is virtually impossible to disentangle the two in practice. The major conclusion is that any assessment of one cannot proceed without taking account of the other. I advocate an integrated approach where both types of schemes are considered jointly, especially in assessing major reform proposals, or in protecting the poor in the face of increasingly more frequent systemic crises.