A key observation from the recent experience of Europe is that social security reform is increasingly complex. Not only should reform ensure adequate protection for all against covered risks, but it should seek improvements in service quality. And for some benefit programmes, effort is also being put into providing greater choice. The realization of these goals requires giving greater consideration to the input to be offered by those responsible for implementing policy: social security administrations. Consideration must also be given to the roles played by other institutional actors as well as to the influence of overarching factors like globalization, population ageing and the economy. In the current challenging economic context, the European “social model” has shown itself to be necessarily robust but also flexible. However, to better ensure the sustainable delivery of social security programmes and to better support economic recovery and future growth, more adaptation will be required. As this Social Policy Highlight concludes, in this regard, it is the responsibility of social security administrations to lead by example.