17 October 2007

Boomin' and Bustin'

The United States celebrates another historical coming of age.
-- WASHINGTON -- America's first baby boomer applied for Social Security benefits Monday, signalling the start of an expected avalanche of applications from the post Second World War 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.
Unfortunately it's not all cake and party hats...
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.

The Social Security trust fund, if left alone, is projected to go broke in 2041, though Astrue said he hopes the U.S. Congress will address the issue, perhaps after the 2008 presidential election.

Technorati Tags: , ,