Struggling to bridge income between jobs, an increasing number (more than expected) of eligible baby boomers are signing up for Social Security.
Social Security applications are up 25 percent, according to a Fox Business report Monday. Fox says the Social Security Administration’s 2008 estimate of a 15 percent increase within the first six months of the government’s fiscal year (based solely on the number of people eligible for benefits this year) didn’t take into consideration the possibility of an economic slowdown and a huge unemployment rate.
“Dan Muldoon, a research associate at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, says this doesn’t necessarily mean that career-driven Boomers are hanging up their laptops and BlackBerrys and heading for the golf course,” writes Gail Buckner for Fox Business. “He suggests it might be just a case of needing some extra cash until a new job is found. ‘They might be looking for work, but if unemployment insurance runs out, it’s easy to claim Social Security if you’re at least age 62.’”
But just because boomers can sign up for benefits doesn’t necessarily make it the correct thing to do, Buckner continues. A recent report from the SSA predicts a revenue shortfall by 2037, four years earlier than expected.