1st Baby Boomer Receives 1st Social Security Payment

VERO BEACH, Fla. (AP) - The nation's first baby boomer is
getting her first Social Security retirement benefit today in Vero
Beach.
Kathleen Casey-Kirschling was born one second after midnight on
January first, 1946. The 62-year-old retired teacher who lives in
Earleville, Maryland, and Vero Beach applied for her benefits
online, and received her payment by direct deposit.
This marks another milestone for the post-World War II
generation.
Federal officials in Florida are calling her "a trendsetter for
her generation" since she decided to receive her benefits by
direct deposit.
Over the next two decades, nearly 80 million baby boomers -
about 10,000 per day - will become eligible for Social Security.
If no changes are made, the Social Security trust fund is
projected to deplete its reserves in 2041 and will begin paying out
more in benefits that it collects in payroll taxes in 2017.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)