Boomer No. 1 files for Social Security benefits

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I seen the following article yesterday on boomergirl.com and realized I am in the babyboomer category. I never really thought much about it untill my hubby turned 50. Now we wonder if we have enough in Savings and enough Life Insurance. Should we have more taken from paychecks to put in KPERS's? It's a scarey thought that there will be nothing left if they don't do something about it soon. The article: Boomer No. 1 files for Social Security benefits By Stephen Ohlemacher - The Associated Press Oct. 17, 2007 WASHINGTON — 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 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, gaining her recognition as 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. Kathleen Casey-Kirschling, the nation's first baby boomer, files for her Social Security retirement benefits over the Internet at the National Press Club in Washington on Monday. Casey-Kirschling, a retired teacher and resident of Maryland, was born on January 1, 1946, at 12:00:01 a.m. With her 62nd birthday right around the corner, she applied for her benefits using the online application at www.socialsecurity.gov to become the first boomer in the United States to receive Social Security retirement benefits. (AP Photo) 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."