Retirement plan woes increase

By Donna Smith

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Rising trade deficits and airline pension problems that could spread to other industries are adding to public unease about President Bush's plan to restructure Social Security, a leading Senate Democrat said on Monday.

Sen. Max Baucus of Montana, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said Bush was unlikely to overcome resistance among Democrats and some Republicans to his proposal to create individual Social Security investment accounts.

"I think because of a rising insecurity in the country -- part of it is trade-related and part of it comes with the announcement of United Airlines dropping its pension plan -- people are just a little nervous all the way around," Baucus told a Reuters newsmaker luncheon.

Bush wants to allow workers to invest part of their Social Security taxes in stocks and bonds, arguing it would give them a better rate of return than the current system. Democrats say it would worsen the retirement program's cash flow problems and shift too much risk to the individual.

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