By Arlenys Tabare
More than 70 million older adults receive Social Security benefits and a large part of this population depends solely on these monthly payments, so living on a fixed amount of money often requires cautious financial planning and, in most cases, cuts or adjustments to budgets.
Given high inflation and average retirement benefits between $3,000 per months, many seniors cannot make ends meet, as it is considered that the cost of living has become increasingly difficult to overcome.
In recent years, increases have been generated in food, goods, services, among others, which put strong pressure on the pockets of long-established Americans; However, so far, three things have increased and caused strong pressure on retirees looking to stretch their budget to the maximum.
Increases in health insurance premiums
According to Financial expert Anthony DeLuca of RetireGuide, points out that it’s no secret that healthcare has become expensive in recent years in the long-established, but highlights that as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies expire, it’s no surprise that retirees with incomes between 100% and 400% of the poverty line could see their health insurance premiums increase.
Added to this is also the elimination of other subsidy programs such as the Affordable Care Act or the Inflation Reduction Act, which could represent higher costs for medications, especially prescribed to the elderly.
Increases in housing expenses
A sector that is currently tight is real estate, and according to DeLuca, with the increase in construction materials and labor for the maintenance of homes, these expenses could increase if looking to repair or renovate the home.
Increase in food and basic products
Since inflation skyrocketed, basic products increased their costs; However, other factors also drove its increase, such as high tariff rates to trading partners and neighbors Canada and Mexico and, recently, the increase in energy prices, such as gasoline, due to the conflict in the Middle East, coupled with the common environmental problems faced by the agricultural sector, which end up adding to the increase in consumer bills.
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