Released: October 21, 2007

On taking early Social Security

Source: Eileen Ambrose, Baltimore Sun (Free Registration)

The day that policy wonks warned about and politicians have tried to ignore is here: The nation’s first baby boomer has signed up for Social Security benefits.

Kathleen Casey-Kirschling was born just after midnight on Jan. 1, 1946, and last week applied for Social Security benefits starting in February. The retired teacher, who lives on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, is healthy and doesn’t need the money now. And she could get a bigger check by waiting until her full retirement age of 66. So why the hurry? “It’s accessible now, and the way I feel about it, five years from now I could be gone,” she says.

Should others of the 78 million or so baby boomers follow her example? Not necessarily. In fact, many retirement experts suggest that healthy baby boomers delay taking benefits until their full retirement age or later, given the likelihood they could live into their 90s and beyond.

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