Demographic challenges in the USA

If one looks at the demographic challenges that the USA needs to face, it becomes obvious that they are only similar to those in Germany and the whole of Europe in a certain way. In the USA, one can observe an increase in elderly people as well; however, the basis is not affected as much on a long-term scale because the birth rate stays fairly constant, meaning that the number of people to pay contributions stays stable. While the average german woman actually would have 1.4 children, the average American woman would have 2.1 children in her lifetime. That's just enough for a generation to replace itself.

What you can observe in the USA is a shift in ethnic-demographic weightings. Asians and Hispanics are those demographic groups that grow quickest, whereas the white population decreases steadily. Immigrants and their children see to it that the demographic change is not as readily noticeable as in Europe.

Of course, there is the same problem of having to provide funds for more elderly people in the USA. More time in retirement naturally also means that pensions need to be paid out longer, and this needs to be compensated for.

The American pension scheme was destabilized by this as well – no less at a time when in Germany, people still spoke of the security of the lawful pension scheme, namely in the 1980s. Here, the pension scheme was influenced by increased contributions and other measures. Any surpluses gained in this way were invested in trust funds, so that a better capital cover for future times could be reached. However, the financial problems of the American pension scheme still are not overcome.