THE
WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
March
24, 2005
Mr.
J. D.
6
Ma. Lane
Radcliff,
Kentucky 40160-1826
Dear
Mr. D.:
On
behalf of President Bush, thank you for your letter about the future of Social
Security.
Social
Security is sound and secure for today's seniors, but the system has serious
problems that need to be fixed to strengthen it for our children and
grandchildren. In 2008, the annual Social Security surplus begins to decline. In
just 13 years the system will begin paying out more benefits than it takes in,
causing permanent deficits that will grow each year, according to the Social
Security Trustees. If we wait to fix the
system, the solutions will be more expensive and more difficult. Each year we
fail to act costs the Social Security system $600 million. The President
believes it is important to confront problems and not to pass them on. That is
why President Bush believes now is the time to act to protect this important
safety net for future generations.
President
Bush has outlined several principles for Social Security reform. First, there
will be no changes for Americans who were
born before 1950. Second, any solution should fix Social Security permanently
without raising the payroll tax rate and jeopardizing America's economic growth.
Third, as part of the comprehensive reform, we must make Social Security a
better deal for younger workers by allowing them to save some of their Social
Security taxes in voluntary personal retirement accounts that they own and control.
Personal
retirement accounts would allow younger workers to earn a greater rate of return
and a more secure retirement by giving them the option to invest in conservative
bond and stock mutual funds. These options are currently available to Federal
employees through the popular Thrift Savings Plan. Because personal retirement
accounts would be owned and controlled by individual workers, they could also be
passed on to heirs.
