welfare state

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun A social system whereby the state assumes primary responsibility for the welfare of its citizens, as in matters of health care, education, employment, and social security.
• noun A nation in which such a system operates.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun a social system in which the state takes overall responsibility for the welfare of its citizens, providing health care, education, unemployment compensation and social security
• noun a state or nation in which such a system operates

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun a government that undertakes responsibility for the welfare of its citizens through programs in public health and public housing and pensions and unemployment compensation etc.