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First boomer applies for Social Security
By Stephen Ohlemacher
Associated Press
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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The baby boomers' stampede for Social Security benefits has begun.

The nation's first baby boomer, a retired teacher from New Jersey, applied for Social Security benefits Monday, signaling the start of an expected avalanche of applications from the post World War II war generation.

Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue called it "America's silver tsunami."

Kathleen Casey-Kirschling applied for benefits over the Internet at an event hosted by Astrue. Casey-Kirschling was born one second after midnight on Jan. 1, 1946, making her the first baby boomer - a generation of nearly 80 million born from 1946 to 1964, Astrue said.

"She's leading the way for her generation," Astrue told reporters.

Casey-Kirschling will be eligible for benefits after she turns 62 next year. She said she taught seventh graders for 14 years at a school near Camden, N.J., before retiring and volunteering for the Red Cross in Gulf Coast areas hit by Hurricane Katrina.

She and her husband have since moved to the eastern shore of Maryland near the Chesapeake Bay.

"I think I'm just lucky to be at the top of the boom," she said.

An estimated 10,000 people a day will become eligible for Social Security benefits over the next two decades, Astrue said. The Social Security trust fund, if left alone, is projected to go broke in 2041.

But Astrue said he is optimistic that Congress will address the issue, perhaps after the 2008 presidential election. President Bush had proposed changes in Social Security to create private accounts, but the proposal went nowhere in Congress.

Last week, Bush's budget director called the growth in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid a "fiscal train wreck." The three entitlement programs make up nearly half of all federal spending, a share that is expected to grow.

A report issued last month by the Treasury Department said that some combination of benefit cuts and tax increases will need to be considered to permanently fix the Social Security shortfall. But White House officials stressed that Bush remains opposed to raising taxes.

Astrue acknowledged the political difficulties of addressing the issue, but said there is still time.

"There's no totally politically easy choice," Astrue said. "I'm not pushing any one answer."

Casey-Kirschling said her generation won't let Social Security fail.

"I think the baby boomers will want to get this fixed," she said. "They're going to want to take care of their children and their grandchildren."

On The Net: http://www.socialsecurity.gov

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Reader comments on this story - 20 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

The Decide to i agree wrote on Oct 16, 2007 5:49 PM:

" Good plan. Just ask the Enron folks who invested in their company for 30 years how well they are off. "

i agree.. wrote on Oct 16, 2007 1:56 PM:

" why not give us a choice on where we want Our money to go? We can either put it in SS or have our employer set it aside for us in a 401K plan or something like that. I think the Gov is responsible for giving us back our money if it comes down to that. I mean if we owe the IRS, they don't sit back and say..that is ok...pay it when you can. They want their money and we should have our money back to if we want that, after all it is our money. I am from Gen X and yes, before long they will have raised the retirement age to 94 and most of us will die sitting at our jobs waiting to retire. "

TO:To bert.... wrote on Oct 16, 2007 12:59 PM:

" We are paying for this set and are kids will pay for us and so on. "

To bert.... wrote on Oct 16, 2007 12:46 PM:

" THen why are we FORCED to pay SS? Most people know they cant count on the govt for this, but we are forced to pay it out knowing there is a good chance we may never get any of it back. "

to To: To: Hey wrote on Oct 16, 2007 12:41 PM:

" The Democrats don't "control" anything. They lack enough votes to block a filibuster and to override a veto. Watch for SS funding changes when Hillary Clinton is in office. "

Way to go Bert: wrote on Oct 16, 2007 12:20 PM:

" Well said (sort of). If the events of the last thirty years have shown us anything, its that we cannot depend on the govt for anything. Everyone is on their own for retirement. "

To: To: Hey wrote on Oct 16, 2007 12:11 PM:

" OK, that's fine to be opposed to Bush's plan. Where's the Dem's plan to fix social security? You guys control the House and Senate. "

bert wrote on Oct 16, 2007 11:03 AM:

" all of ya' depending on the government to wipe you when you get old deservve whatever you get "

Rolling Eyes wrote on Oct 16, 2007 10:51 AM:

" Let the entitlements promised by FDR and LBJ dessicate us all! "

Not Busted wrote on Oct 16, 2007 10:40 AM:

" The current fund will not support benefits after 2041, however; that is not the entire story. Several federal projects have been supported over the years with loans from the SS fund. If those loans are repaid with interest as planned, the SS fund is in no danger. That does not means that the money will magically appear. The government (thats us) is going to have to come up with a way to fund this repayment. In terms of $ returned, SS is often not a great investment for anyone who exceeds the median income. It is however; short-sited to not realize that the cost to society of millions of indigent seniors could have compromised much of our country's progress over the past 50 yrs. The next President will be forced to deal with this problem. It will probably destroy his/her party and political career. "

to Hey, There's no problem wrote on Oct 16, 2007 10:36 AM:

" Wrong. Democrats were just opposed to Bush's SS plan, which was simply a huge gift to the stock brokers. "

Hey, There's no problem wrote on Oct 16, 2007 10:24 AM:

" Don't you Democrats remember your leadership telling President Bush that there was no problem with Social Security and that it didn't need fixing? It was only a couple of years ago, your memories can't be that conveniently faulty. "

Gimme! wrote on Oct 16, 2007 10:22 AM:

" I was born at the tail end of the boom, but one thing I've learned from this generation's senior citizens is to keep my hand out to the government, complain that I don't get more, and let the AARP lobby do my dirty work for me. I'm even practicing my "I'm on a fixed income, dontcha know" diatribe. I'll be ready when I turn 65 (or 67, or 70)! "

X wrote on Oct 16, 2007 9:58 AM:

" The new retirement for gen xers and after, isn't the age now 71 or something like that? Doesn't that go beyond our national average agespan of life? When I was 20, I never thought I'd have to work until age 71, let alone not get one penny of all the social security I'd put in. I started working at age 16, like many of you I'm sure, and I don't know about any of you out there, but I'm scared to death. "

wow wrote on Oct 16, 2007 9:35 AM:

" i cant walk, i cant bend or stoop or put my shoes on, and cant get ss .. i guess i should eat more beans "

to Hogwash wrote on Oct 16, 2007 9:15 AM:

" Yeah, Iraq was going to destory America. Yeah, and there's a monster under your bed! "

Lumpy wrote on Oct 15, 2007 10:12 PM:

" I'm 38 and I'd give up any claim to future SS funds that I've "donated" so far if they'd let me "opt out" and simply keep the thousands I now put in every year. I have to live to 69 1/2 to even start collecting anyway. I'm not to optimistic about reaching either goal... :) "

Gen X'ers unite wrote on Oct 15, 2007 8:36 PM:

" Sad to say that we'll never see a dime of the $$$ we're putting in. I'm all about filing a class action suit the day that I'm eligible to retire. Gen X'ers vs Social Security Admin. "

Hogwash wrote on Oct 15, 2007 7:54 PM:

" Social Security was in trouble long before the war in Iraq and the money used for the war would only be the tip of the iceberg. Of course, if our country should be destroyed there would be no concern over social security. "

Here we go...... wrote on Oct 15, 2007 6:38 PM:

" Lets start the economic meltdown. I bet if we had all of that money being WASTED in Iraq, we could have fixed social security. I will sleep better at night knowing the fine citizens of Iraq can walk the streets safer now. Oh wait, they still cant walk the streets safely. "
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