The governance of social security institutions is crucial to their ability to provide income security and help increase people’s access to essential services, as pressures and uncertainties continue to increase in the face of globalization and the fragility of support systems. But what is the nature of governance in the social security sector? How do social security institutions cope with missions that can be complex and contradictory due to their adherence to different sets of priorities and mandates, reflecting political influences, economic interventions and social policies? The common belief that modern management practice is sufficient to meet these challenges is based on a misconception. This study mainly used qualitative methods to explore some of the governance challenges in the social security sector and showed that social security governance structures and processes may have some unique characteristics in developing countries. The study is based on a structured literature review using a deductive analysis approach (DAA) and on the collection, screening, coding and analysis of empirical data and case studies from government reports and policy documents. By placing theoretical insights in empirical cases, the study sheds light on the experience of social security governance and provides some suggestions for improving social security governance, addressing key challenges and improving its performance towards supporting social welfare and sustainable development.