Today Is The First Day Of The Last Phase Of The Baby Boom

If you think about the cost and expectations tied to social Security and Medicare, today may be the most important day of the 21st century fro our country.

Md. Woman Becomes First Boomer to File for Social Security

October 15, 2007 - 4:28pm

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

Kathleen Casey-Kirschling, a former teacher from New Jersey, applied for benefits over the Internet at an event attended by Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue.

Casey-Kirschling, who now lives in Maryland, 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.

Casey-Kirschling will be eligible for benefits after she turns 62 next year.
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, though Astrue said he hopes Congress will address the issue, perhaps after the 2008 presidential election.

Meanwhile in Fairfax County, there will be more than 350,000 people older than age 50 by 2020, and the number of people over the age of 70 will jump by almost 60 percent.
With those numbers in mind, county leaders drafted a plan to meet their needs. The plan includes everything from better training for adult caretakers to developing more communities where transit, retail and housing are all nearby.
County Supervisor Dana Kaufman says the plan involves a change in attitude on everything, including the budget.
The plan also includes additional tax incentives that may help older residents stay in their homes and efforts to attract more assisted living facilities to the county.
(Copyright 2007 by WTOP and The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) WASHINGTON - The nation's first baby boomer applied for Social Security benefits Monday, signaling the start of an expected avalanche of applications from the post World War II war generation.
Kathleen Casey-Kirschling, a former teacher from New Jersey, applied for benefits over the Internet at an event attended by Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue.
Casey-Kirschling, who now lives in Maryland, 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.
Casey-Kirschling will be eligible for benefits after she turns 62 next year.
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, though Astrue said he hopes Congress will address the issue, perhaps after the 2008 presidential election.