11月23日,审计署公布了对企业职工基本养老保险基金、城镇职工基本医疗保险基金和失业保险基金等三项基金的审计结果，结果表明，国家2万亿社保基金中有71亿存在挪用违规现象。作为困难群众生活的源头活水，社会保障制度应是社会的“稳定器”和“安全网”。社会保险基金是“高压线”，任何人都不得侵占挪用。

An audit report published Thursday found that about 7.1 billion yuan (US$900 million) of the country's 2 trillion yuan (US$253 billion) social security fund had been misappropriated. According to the National Audit Office, the funds were siphoned off for "overseas investment, commercial loans to companies, construction of government buildings and other purposes." Of the total, 2.3 billion yuan (US$291 million) was stolen before 1999 and 4.8 billion yuan (US$607 million) after that, said the report. "The social security funds, except for sums paid to beneficiaries, must be deposited in banks or used to purchase State treasury bonds," said the report. The agency's investigation, which started in September, audited pension, unemployment and health insurance funds in provinces across the country, and discovered corruption and irregular management. At a health insurance fund management centre in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the director and the finance chief transferred 31.9 million yuan (US$4 million) of medical insurance premiums to bank accounts of friends and relatives. China provided pensions to 43.67 million retirees last year and granted living subsidies to 3.62 million laid-off people. (China Daily)

Vocabulary:

social security fund：社保基金 siphoned off: 抽取（基金） beneficiary: 受益人 pension: 养老金 medical insurance premiums: 医疗保险金 living subsidy: 生活补助 （英语点津陈蓓编辑）