What the candidates aren't talking about that affects seniors. Interest on investments and interests
Okay, most of my post is ancedotal and my experience in trying to survive today so if you want links or empirical studies don't bother to read.
My Social Security has never been adequate but I had savings to draw on. At first I was able to meet my additional needs with interest from investments in bonds and CDs. Well, that kind of interest has gone down the tank so I started relying on mutual funds, however, the market is not keeping up with what my draws are so I'm mostly drawing principle and it's going down fast. I have been retired for more than ten years and I try to find work when I can but there is less and less work out their for old ladies my age.
In the meantime my Social Security is not keeping up with the cost of living but this is the first year that I get less a month than I did last year. How did that happen? My Medicare plans deductions went up with the result that I get $11 a month less on my Social Security than I got last year. Other medical expenses, like my Medicare supplement, have gone up. My dental bills, which Medicare doesn't pay for have gone up. Over the counter medicine, like pain killers, gastrointestinal pills, eye drops and a myriad of little fixes we seniors buy OTC have gone up.
What happens is because I barely meet expenses with my Social Security and a small draw from my savings, is that I start living on credit cards on the months that things go wrong. For instance I had to have a transmission job on my car a few months ago. My elderly cat needed surgery, for starters. A traffic ticket cost me $400 in the end. All these things went on a credit card. Sometimes my grocery money doesn't go far enough let alone gas money because of the vagaries of the marketplace. All that goes on a credit card. Thanks to Elizabeth Warren, the CC companies now have to tell you what they are charging and that information makes Mafia loan sharks look like benevolent bankers.
Since over the years my balance has built up, I now find myself only able to make minimum payments. Last month a third of my payment went to interest. They admit that 50% of what I make in payments for the year will go into interest. For one thing, at one time the top rate that could be charged for interest was 18%. Anything else was considered usury theft and criminal. Why aren't the candidates talking about this? For another thing, there was a time one could deduct the interest from taxes, just like property taxes. This wouldn't help me but it would help a lot of people who have credit card debt they are trying to pay off. Why aren't the candidates talking about this?
Oh, and about that COLA increase that we didn't get, it was because gas prices went down. Well, most seniors I know, who do drive and many don't, don't go to work every day so their gas use is minimal. In my case, my budget says I can spend $40 a month on gas, no more. Sometimes I have spent $50 but never more. What happens is I don't go anywhere except when I have to and I try to combine as many errands as I can in one trip to save mileage. So gas expense isn't a big COL issue with most seniors.
To wrap this up. I hope maybe some of the candidates' campaign officials see this and attempt to figure out a way to address these problems, I face, because if I'm facing them, I'm sure most seniors dependent on Social Security and Medicare are also having them. Increasing SS is only part of the problem. Peace. Cleita.
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