VERO BEACH, Fla. -- The nation's first baby boomer received her first Social Security retirement benefit recently in Florida.

Kathleen Casey-Kirschling was born one second after midnight on Jan. 1, 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.

"Like many of her fellow boomers, Kathy leads a full and busy life," said Jim Courtney, Social Security Deputy Commissioner for Communications. "By choosing direct deposit, Kathy's benefit is safely and conveniently deposited into her bank account. No matter where in the country - or the world - Kathy is, her money is as close as the nearest ATM or just a mouse click away through online banking."

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.

"Direct deposit is a win for everyone," said Judith R. Tillman, Commissioner of Treasury's Financial Management Service. "For the last three years, Treasury has led a campaign called Go Direct to educate Americans about the many benefits of direct deposit. We at Treasury congratulate Kathy on receiving her first Social Security payment and on her decision to Go Direct."

At an event Tuesday in Vero Beach, Social Security also premiered a new video public service announcement that promotes filing online for retirement benefits. The video, featuring Kirschling, was posted to the Social Security Web site Tuesday afternoon.

Social Security officials claim that direct deposit eliminates the risk of lost or stolen checks, reduces fraud, helps protect against identity theft and gives people more control over their money. Direct deposit also saves taxpayers millions of dollars. According to the Financial Management Service, if every current federal benefit check recipient switched to direct deposit, it would save taxpayers about $130 million a year.

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.

For more information about direct deposit, visit www.GoDirect.org. To learn more about Social Security's online services, go to www.socialsecurity.gov/onlineservices.