INSTITUTIONAL TRANSFORMATION OF THE SOCIAL INSURANCE SYSTEM IN UKRAINE: REGULATORY-LEGAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL-FINANCIAL DETERMINANTS

Abstract

comprehensive analysis of the institutional transformation of the social insurance system in Ukraine is conducted through the prism of the evolution of its regulatory-legal and organizational-financial foundations. The study reveals the specific features of the transition from the Soviet budgetary-distributive model of social welfare to a risk-oriented insurance system, which предусматриває targeted accumulation of resources in extrabudgetary funds, personalization of insurance rights, and the provision of benefits upon the occurrence of defined insured events. The key stages in the formation of the social insurance system in Ukraine are identified, including: the institutional separation of pension insurance and the establishment of the Pension Fund of Ukraine as a basic financial institution; the legal consolidation of the principles and types of compulsory state social insurance and the parity model of governance; the formation of specialized funds by types of social risks combining compensatory, preventive, and rehabilitative functions; the introduction of the single social contribution as a mechanism for unification and centralization of insurance contribution administration; and the subsequent consolidation of insurance institutions and transformation of governance models under conditions of macroeconomic instability and martial law. It is substantiated that the institutional changes of the last decade, aimed at increasing system manageability and ensuring the continuity of social payments, have been accompanied by a gradual weakening of self-governance elements and financial autonomy of social insurance funds, which are defining features of classical social insurance models. It is shown that the contemporary social insurance model in Ukraine is characterized by a combination of insurance-based and budgetary-administrative elements, which determines its hybrid institutional nature. Emphasis is placed on the fact that compulsory health insurance has not acquired a completed institutional form, while since 2017 a budgetary-contractual model of healthcare financing based on state financial guarantees has dominated in Ukraine, which functionally differs from classical insurance approaches. The directions for further research are outlined, focusing on the assessment of long-term institutional consequences of the centralization of social insurance governance and on finding a balance between financial sustainability, administrative efficiency, and the preservation of the insurance-based nature of the system.