The article classifies social risks into traditional and non-traditional and their impact on the regulation of the social protection system in Ukraine. The modern problems of financing the sphere of social protection of the population in Ukraine are revealed and the ways of their overcoming are outlined. The dynamics of arrears of wages in Ukraine and the dynamics of real disposable income of the population of Ukraine for 2005-2018 are presented. It is proved that one of the significant obstacles to the effective implementation of social policy in our country is the insufficient level of its financial support in combination with irrational planning, distribution and inefficient use of available financial resources. Respondents’ assessment of the degree of impact of traditional and non-traditional social risks on the social protection of citizens is presented. It is determined that the progressive and dynamic development of Ukraine today can focus on the socialization of the economic system with full consideration of the needs, interests of the population, its incentives for productive work to realize their own professional potential, comprehensive development, receiving a decent reward for work.