US-Ireland Alliance

Kathleen Romig Krepps – Social Security Policy

By Conor Ryan

In Washington DC, as the summer of 2013 approaches, Kathleen is looking much further down the road, to 2033, and how social security policy will need to change.  As an analyst, her research will have implications not only for social security reform but also for a number of key discussions taking place in America on tax reform, health care reform and long term fiscal policy.

Kathleen is a 2002 Mitchell Scholar and received a Master's Degree in Applied Social Studies from University College Cork.  For her thesis on pensions, Kathleen had to both design and execute a bespoke research program, a process she has replicated many times since in her work for the Social Security Administration.  Several of the people she interviewed from Cork are now her colleagues in Washington DC.

For Kathleen, the social security program gives members of society an opportunity to look out for one another whilst also encouraging people to contribute and take care of themselves.  Her thinking is informed  by her studies in Ireland.  In addition to her many years experience at the SSA, she also worked at the Department of Agriculture and the Office of Management and Budget meaning Kathleen is very well placed to take a leading role in designing the social security policy of the future.