Ukrainians will no longer have to collect dozens of certificates for social assistance: The World Bank allocates $880 million for reform

The war has revealed one of the biggest problems of Ukrainian social policy — a complex and overloaded system of benefits and payments. A model that has been accumulating new types of assistance and exceptions for years has exhausted its resources and is increasingly struggling to fulfill its tasks.

Over the years of reforms, more than 50 different types of social assistance have been created, but such a fragmented system often leads to the dispersion of resources instead of targeted support for those who really need it. In practice, this means that a person who finds themselves in difficult life circumstances has to separately apply for several types of assistance, collect different sets of documents, and undergo numerous checks.

For example, an internally displaced person may simultaneously claim assistance as an IDP, as a low-income person, and as a single father or mother. Instead of applying for one single social assistance, such a person is forced to collect three different sets of documents and stand in queues. The state spends resources checking three different cases of the same person, who ultimately receives three meager payments that together do not even cover rent.

Equally problematic is the preference for cash payments over the development of social services. In many communities, people often need not so much additional financial assistance as access to care, rehabilitation, psychological support, social accompaniment, or home assistance. However, such services are often most lacking in small settlements.

The response to these challenges is the SPIRIT project (Social Protection for Inclusion, Resilience, Innovation and Transformation), approved by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors in May.

This is not just financial aid amounting to 880 million US dollars, but a comprehensive plan of structural reforms aimed at transforming Ukraine into a modern social state according to EU standards.

SPIRIT Project: International Support for Social System Reform

The key tool for modernizing the social sphere will be the SPIRIT project, which will be implemented by the Ministry of Social Policy, Family and Unity of Ukraine with the support of international partners.

The financial basis of the project is a loan from the World Bank amounting to 860 million US dollars. Additionally, 20 million dollars will be provided as grant co-financing from the United Kingdom and Germany through the Target Fund for Support, Recovery, Reconstruction, and Reform of Ukraine (URTF).

The project is expected to cover over one million citizens, including low-income families, persons with disabilities, elderly people, and other categories of the population in need of state support.

The main goal of SPIRIT is to create a modern digital and targeted social protection system focused on the needs of the individual. The government expects that such a model will increase the efficiency of budget spending, simplify access to social assistance, and contribute to the country's economic recovery and further integration into the European space.

Three Pillars of the Reform

The project envisages the implementation of three reforms, which are already reflected in national legislation.

Unification through Basic Social Assistance. Instead of five fragmented programs, a single system will be created operating on a one-stop-shop principle. This will help avoid bureaucracy and provide comprehensive support.

A National Agency for the Procurement of Social Services is being established. The principle of "money follows the client" is introduced, which will allow involving the non-governmental sector and private organizations in service provision.

Ukraine is moving away from the outdated medical model of the Medical-Social Expert Commissions (MSEC) towards WHO approaches. This will allow assessing the real needs of a person and ensuring access to rehabilitation and employment.

Draft Law No. 15094 "On Basic Social Assistance"

The draft law No. 15094, adopted by the Verkhovna Rada in the first reading, is defined as a key instrument for implementing the first stage of the SPIRIT social system reform.

The document proposes to change the approach to granting state support and move from fragmented payments to a unified model of basic social assistance.

Key changes in the draft law

The concept of "basic amount" is introduced, the size of which cannot be lower than the subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons. The amount of basic social assistance will be determined as the difference between the basic amount set for a particular family and its average monthly total income.

The law details the concepts of household and family. It includes, in particular, children up to 23 years old who are studying, as well as persons living together and maintaining a common household.

According to the provisions of draft law No. 15094, the right to new basic social assistance, which is to be introduced from January 1, 2027, will primarily belong to low-income families permanently residing in Ukraine. This right also extends to foreigners, stateless persons, refugees, and persons requiring additional protection if they are legally present in Ukraine.

The main categories of assistance recipients are:

• Low-income families with a low average monthly total income.
• Families who decide to switch to this type of support instead of other payments, namely:
• Elderly persons without insurance record: those who have reached retirement age but have not acquired the right to a pension due to lack of necessary work experience.
• Certain categories of vulnerable persons who may receive assistance for life with automatic renewal:

• assistance for children to single mothers;
• assistance for children in large families;
• temporary assistance to children whose parents evade alimony, are unable to support the child, or whose place of residence is unknown.

• persons with disabilities established indefinitely;
• single persons aged 65 and over who have no other means of subsistence;
• incapacitated spouses in the absence of persons obliged to support them.

Provision of assistance is inseparably linked to the case management system. Families applying for support will undergo individual social accompaniment and needs assessment, which should determine their further path out of crisis.

The introduction of a tripartite agreement between the paying authority, the territorial community, and the assistance recipient is envisaged. Such an agreement fixes the mutual obligations of the parties: the state provides financial support and social services, and the recipient participates in social adaptation, activation, and employment programs.

Together, these changes form a transition to a more targeted and conditionally contractual model of social support, where financial assistance is combined with obligations regarding social integration and the return of the person to economic activity.

Implemented within the project

Ukraine is already implementing some experimental projects testing new approaches.

The government is implementing a pilot project under Resolution No. 371 "Some issues of implementing an experimental project on providing basic social assistance". According to paragraph 3 of this resolution, the Ministry of Social Policy, Family and Unity of Ukraine is obliged within two months after the completion of the experimental project (March 2027) to submit a report on its results to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, as well as proposals for amendments to regulatory legal acts. The Ministry of Finance of Ukraine notes that implementing the provisions of the act will require additional expenditures from the state and local budgets.

Projects for stationary care for IDPs based on the principle "money follows the person" and social accompaniment of servicemen directly in units are being implemented. The full launch of the Agency for the Procurement of Social Services is part of a long-term strategy, and currently the Ministry of Social Services and the National Social Service of Ukraine are implementing pilot experimental projects through the social procurement mechanism. In particular:

• Providing stationary care social services and supported living for elderly IDPs and persons with disabilities based on the principle "money follows the person"
• Social accompaniment of servicemen and their family members in military units (subunits)
• Introduction of a comprehensive social service for building resilience
• Temporary accommodation and support for certain categories of IDPs in difficult life circumstances

Digital case management tools within the Unified Information System of the Social Sphere have been launched.

The Ministry of Finance warns that the implementation of draft law No. 15094 requires an additional 50 billion hryvnias, the sources of which are currently undefined. There is inconsistency between the new norms and the current Law "On Social Services", particularly regarding the powers of local self-government and the mandatory nature of services. Without amendments to sectoral laws, a situation may arise where payments are made simultaneously under the old and new mechanisms, which will only increase the budget burden.

The main task for the government before the law comes into force remains harmonizing legislation, finding stable sources of funding, and closing loopholes for corruption abuses.

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