Аннотация

Now more than 45 million American receive pensions under the auspices of the Social Security Administration. The latter was established in 1935 during the Roosevelt’s New Deal and helped generations of American families. The financial base of Social Security program is the special tax on working people. In 1940 for one pensioner there were 40 working people, now only 3 to 1. This is the result of economic, social and, especially, demographic changes of last decades. A few years from now, when baby-boomers will leave the work the number of pensioners will grow much more. Many in the United States think that the Social Security system will go to crisis, even to bankruptcy. Responding to these fears, President Bush in 2005 announced his plan of reforming Social Security. The main idea of the plan: in a voluntary way young workers will put part of their pensions tax to personal account, which they could use as they like, invest in favorable way etc., and to have more savings for their future pension. Bush hopes that personal accounts will strengthen Social Security system. But many, especially democrats, didn’t agree. His critics say such accounts amount to privatization, and there is no necessity in reforming the present system, which is basically sound, and with some improvements could work successfully. Still reform wasn’t materialized. There is no new law. This issue remains one of the most important priorities in the American political agenda.