By Marjorie A. Gordon-DeLee, MA (December 11, 2018)
On today it was important to seek a low-income apartment for a Senior Citizen and realized how difficult it is to do. If there is a Senior Citizen who may not be doing well health wise, or had not advance in their level of education, it would be quite intimidating for that Senior Citizen to navigate through the many different channels, organizations, agencies, options on the telephone to acquire assistance with housing or any other public assistance is necessary.
If a Senior Citizen is in immediate need for housing on that day or in a few days, it is extremely important that the search for low-income housing is made easier for that Senior Citizen to navigate through the system as well as having the ability to receive immediate assistance.
In an attempt to gather information on low-income housing on today, I called five (5) different establishments that include; the Lt. Governor’s Office on Aging, Central Midland’s Council on Government, the South Carolina Department of Social Services, the Columbia Housing Authority and the Holiday Retirement organization. I spoke with two people out of the five (5) different establishments, three (3) of the telephone numbers just rang off the hook and one I left a message and have yet to receive a return call.
It is extremely important that this system for Baby Boomers, our Senior Citizens, be fixed where it becomes more user-friendly for the Senior Citizens, that more low-income housing is available and affordable for the Senior Citizens, and that more programs are created for these Baby Boomers who are living longer because they have become much more health conscious.
Baby Boomers are remaining active, working longer, and simply not the Senior Citizens of yesterday. It behooves our communities, state and federal government to put much more emphasis to our Senior Citizens who’s also a vital source of information for this society as well.
One Baby Boomer shared why he is still in the workforce:
A major reason for me and some of my colleagues staying in the workforce is that many of us had big jobs throughout our careers that paid quite well. Through downsizing and continuous acquisitions and mergers, many of us were let go. That resulted in our regaining employment but at much lower income ranges than we were used to.
Although some of us knew the bubble would eventually burst and saved for a rainy day, our savings power was greatly reduced because of the income drops.
As a result, many boomers like myself are now working 3 days per week not only because we want to stay busy and challenged, but also because of the extra income we bring in.
This allows us to maintain a lifestyle we enjoyed during our peak years with some gentle downsizing (Crudele, 2018).
Being a Baby Boomer myself, I can attest to that statement. We Baby Boomers make up a population of nearly 80 million people in America (Frankel, 2017).
Baby boomers are defined as people born between 1946 and 1964 in the post-World War II era. In a Baby Boomer Snapshot:
· In 1957, there were 4.3 million babies born (according to the 2014 Census Bureau report above), setting a record for the highest number of births ever recorded.
· In the first year of the Baby Boom, 1946, there were 3.4 million recorded births, according to History.com (Schwankle, n.d.).
·
To provide more on housing for the Baby Boomer, who many are on an extremely low income with 40% of their income going toward housing; therefore, there is not much wiggle room for budgeting elsewhere in their household finances. Here is what Seniorliving.org had to say on the topic of housing for Senior Citizens:
The most prevalent house burden is cost as 40% of senior households had housing costs exceeding 30% of household income. The other housing issues are physically inadequate housing such as overcrowding, major upkeep problems, and a lack complete plumbing.
Many of the senior living options available to retirees can be expensive depending on your needs and where you plan to live. For example, if you are mostly independent but need help with some activities of daily living (ADLs), an assisted living facility is an option. The average that most seniors pay for a stay here is a lot of times less than what current housing expenses can be.
Options for independent living seniors abound. These are primarily 55+ communities that offer a number of amenities and living choices from mobile homes to condos to single family homes. At prices ranging from $1,500 to $5,000 a month, these aren't always options from seniors living solely on Social Security.
It is certainly a dire need for Congress to focus on more programs for our Senior Citizens, affordable housing, and on the medical care of this large group of citizens in America.
Resources:
Crudele, J. (2018). Baby Boomers share why they’re still working hard. Retrieved December 11, 2018 from https://nypost.com/2018/06/09/baby-boomers-share-why-theyre-still-working-hard/
Frankel, (2017). 9 Baby-Boomer Statistics That Will Blow You Away. Retrieved December 11, 2018 from https://www.fool.com/retirement/2017/07/29/9-baby-boomer-statistics-that-will-blow-you-away.aspx
Schwankle, C. (n.d.). Surprising Baby Boomer Statistics. Retrieved December 11, 2018 from https://seniors.lovetoknow.com/Baby_Boomer_Statistics
Seniorliving.org. Helpful Resources for Seniors Surviving on Social Security. The Golden Years Mirage. Retrieved December 11, 2018 from https://www.seniorliving.org/retirement/resources-surviving-social-security/
Comments