The Recession May Be Causing Baby Boomers to Claim Social Security Early

From Usnews.com

Most baby boomers say they plan to work during the traditional retirement years. But that doesn’t mean they’re able to find work. The Social Security Administration reports a surge in early retirement claims this year.

Applications for retired worker benefits are up 25 percent so far this year compared to fiscal year 2008. The Social Security Administration was expecting a 15 percent boost in applications this year due to aging baby boomers and women claiming based on their own working record and not a spouses. SSA attributes the rest of the increase to the economy. “So far in fiscal year 2009, retired worker benefit applications are about 8 to 9 percent higher than had been expected in the absence of a recession,” says Stephen Goss, chief actuary of the Social Security Administration. “It is likely that total retired worker benefit applications will turn out to be about 5 to 10 percent higher during fiscal year 2009 than had been expected in the absence of a recession.”