First-ever Social Security shortfall as more retire early

More filed in 2009 than in any other year in history
August 9, 2010
BY MATT SEDENSKY

MIAMI -- Paul Skidmore's office is shuttered, his job gone, his 18-month job search fruitless and his unemployment benefits exhausted. So at 63, he plans to file this week for Social Security benefits, three years earlier than planned.

"All I want to do is work," said Skidmore, of Finksburg, Md., who was an insurance claims adjuster for 37 years before his company closed his office last year. "And nobody will hire me."

It is one of the most striking fallouts from the bad economy: Social Security is facing its first-ever shortfall this year as a wave of people like Skidmore opt to collect payments before their full retirement age. Adding to the strain on the trust are reduced tax collections sapped by the country's historic unemployment -- still at 9.5 percent.

More people filed for Social Security in 2009 -- 2.74 million -- than in any other year in history, and there was a marked increase in the number receiving reduced benefits because they filed ahead of their full retirement age. The increase came as the full Social Security retirement age rose last year from 65 to 66. the rest