ESSENCE, MAIN DIRECTIONS AND FUNCTIONS OF SOCIAL PROTECTION OF THE POPULATION

Abstract

At the present stage of development of the state, social and social security of the population plays a leading role in ensuring the welfare of the country's population. The system of social protection of the population depends on the social policy of the state. The social policy of the state, which regulates social relations in society, carries out the distribution and redistribution of incomes of the population; forms social guarantees; creates a system of social protection of the population; ensuring the development of parts of the social infrastructure. The article analyzes theoretical approaches to the interpretation of the concept of "social protection", emphasizes intra- and intersectoral debatable positions, examines in detail the approaches of representatives of different sciences to the definition of "social protection", defines the components of social protection. The role of social protection and social security of the population in ensuring the welfare of the population of the state is analyzed and the concepts of "social protection" and "social security" are investigated. The current state, development trends are analyzed and directions for improving the functioning of the social security system in modern conditions are outlined. The authors used the following scientific methods in the process of research: induction and deduction - in the process of studying the general trends in the development of social protection and social security in Ukraine, analysis and synthesis - when making theoretical generalizations, forming appropriate conclusions; bibliographic - a study of literary sources to obtain the necessary information on the research topic. In Ukraine, the concept of “social protection” is constitutionally enshrined, which includes the right to provide citizens in the event of complete, partial or temporary disability, loss of a breadwinner, unemployment due to circumstances beyond their control, as well as old age and in other cases provided for by law. This right is guaranteed by compulsory state social insurance, carried out at the expense of insurance contributions from citizens, enterprises, institutions and organizations, as well as budgetary and other sources of social security; creation of a network of state, communal, private institutions for the care of the disabled (Constitution of Ukraine, Article 46). Ensuring guarantees of social security of the population is possible in two ways: 1) the state itself carries out the redistribution of national wealth by financing social programs; 2) the state provides people with the opportunity to provide themselves with a pension, money in case of illness, etc., as well as the right to choose one or another social service on the market. Social security has always occupied one of the key places in the life of the state and society. It directly depends on the development of the economy and is closely related to politics and the social well-being of the population. The stability of society, its sustainable development, and, as a result, its national security depend on the state of the social sphere, the effectiveness of the policy pursued by the state in the field of social support for citizens. Rethinking the essence of social protection of the population in accordance with the new tasks designed to solve this system, and the mechanisms for the implementation of social protection of the population, which should be adequate to transformational changes in society. However, despite the rather wide range of theoretical and practical issues considered, the issues related to the theoretical foundations of this area of scientific research remain relevant: disclosure of the essence, content, structure, functions and levels of social protection and social security of the population. In our opinion, it is impossible to search for directions for reforming the system of social protection without scientific substantiation of the essence of the subject of research. It is from these positions that the relevance of the study, the main results of which are presented in the article, should be considered.