The chapter reviews existing social policies, and recent attempts to find better ways of allocating public resources for those most in need, in particular families with children. It concludes with a summary of the main challenges and suggests reform avenues to develop a social protection system which would support the working-age population more effectively. The subsequent sharp economic slowdown in 2009 did not generate a significant increase in overall poverty rates as labour market adjustments involved reduced working hours rather than lay-offs (Chapter 1), and because pension payments increased almost by 50% since 2007 (Chapter 4).'