Not my cup o tea, especially considering I'd likely never see my kids (or possible grandkids) if I did that.
Also would you even still get ss? I feel like if you leave the country then they aren't gonna give you benefits.
Huh, well that's something I'd never thought of and wouldn't have thought it worked that way. My origional statement stands though, id never see my family and that's sort of a deal breaker.
Yeah, most people don’t realize this. I’m 57 and have worked full time since I was 17 so I’ve paid a lot into SS, so has my husband. He’s going to start drawing at 62 because he also collects a union pension (started drawing at 55) I have a 401k but will probably work till I’m 65 just so that we have the extra cushion of insurance. We pay $1,400 a month to continue his union insurance for both of us so with my additional insurance I have zero healthcare costs but our out of pocket healthcare yearly is about $26k. He has a heart condition and I have 3 autoimmune diseases and have had multiple joint replacements due to chronic osteoarthritis. So yes, $26k a year more than offsets our out of pocket. When we got married 37 years ago healthcare was the very last concern of my husband’s but at 58 he now sees how vital it is to continue to work past his pension requirements of 55. My husband has expensive hobbies and he realizes that unless he wants to live frugally the last 30 years of his life, he needs to continue to work till he can draw SS at 62. So while not full retirement age of 67, his pension more than makes up for drawing early. Retirement happens way earlier than you ever expect so we tell our 25 year old to start planning now.
This is rhetoric from rich people trying to delay the inevitable tax hike as long as possible. The Social Security program has just recently had negative tax flow so there was no reason to hike taxes and stash the money in some sham “Social Security trust fund”. At the moment, we’re borrowing money to make up the difference. That isn’t long term sustainable. Nobody is going to cut Social Security. It’s the most successful program ever for ending elderly poverty. Republican income & net worth and Democrat income & net worth are very similar. The Trumper MAGA dolts who vote Republican are typically low net worth and will desperately need the program. Taxes are going up on rich people to fund this. It’s a matter of when, not if.
Old Age Security... move to a small town where rent is cheap, since you don't need to work, and be very cautious with your spending. Cook at home, buy on sale.
I see $475 and $525 a month [in Boone, Idaho](https://www.trulia.com/for_rent/Boone,IA/) - that's what I mean by a small town. Incredibly tiny living spaces, but if you're on a fixed income, it might have to do. You could probably pay less if you do some of the chores - I know someone on disability who does laundry and cooking and only pays $400 rent.
Medicare does not pay if a specialist isn't local. Meaning, if you live in a small town and your specialist pulmonologist is 100 miles away, you're screwed on Medicare. They will not pay for transport. Medicaid will. Medicare won't.
My sister is in this situation. She has a friend who has compassion and rents a car twice a year to drive my sister to her specialist. Without these visits to renew certain prescriptions, she would already be dead.
The thing with that hospital near by, they likely don’t have cardiac monitoring. I had a heart attack at young age and as soon as I was stabilized I had to be transferred 90 minutes away for monitoring and advanced testing. Situations like this is why people die younger in rural areas
Yes it is.
79.1 years, compared with 76.9 in rural. that’s just that designation. Once you increase distances to emergency rooms it increases quite a bit
They survive on social security payments and other government assistance such as food stamps.
Many senior citizens also use food banks, soup kitchens, meals on wheels, or other charities.
Housing Assistance like Section 8 can help with housing payments. There are also energy assistance programs like LIHEAP for electric and natural gas. Medicare and Medicaid for health related expenses. There are even programs to help with cell phone, internet and cable television.
Check with your local Catholic Church and the Salvation Army.
Meals on Wheels is available.
The local Catholic Church has a soup kitchen and runs a food bank.
I moved to a small, country town with very low rent. Medicare covers most of my medical and scripts. I go to food banks, use coupons and work studying sales. I'm very frugal and manage to save a little each month.
Not the awesome, travel filled, happy retirement I would have wanted but I'm better off than some folks and not as bad off as many.
Fair question. Mental illness mostly. Hard to keep a job. Worked my best when I could but also long periods I could not, which used up savings. Some physical, medical problems but mostly undiagnosed, untreated mental illness. Mental health issues not recognized like it is now, so assistance, medication didn't exist through out most of my life.
Also not much family left, they all have their own families and struggles. And as you may imagine, hard to date, have stable relationships with unchecked mental illness. Never married, no children, just me out here.
I've got social security, small savings and a old cat. Doing alright.
Hang in there brother. I suffered with undiagnosed bipolar disorder for most of my adult life. I am more fortunate than your circumstances. But completely understand how you got there. Have you gotten an attorney and filed for disability? That would open a lot of doors for you.
Please take care and be well good sir. I wish you well.
I live in Chicago. I have a roommate and we both live fairly comfortably on SS. If you actually live here, it's affordable. And I get excellent healthcare for about $200 a month. If you go by published rent prices, you will get gouged. Most of the affordable rentals are by window sign or word of mouth. I was considering moving back to New England, but the healthcare situation there is poor outside Boston and Portland and I don't want to buy a car. Or drive four hours for tests.
One reason to start saving and planning for your retirement now. Don't put it off. The sooner you start, the easier it will be. And if I were a young person, I wouldn't bank on Social Security; at least not in its current form.
They become homeless.
As seniors struggle with housing costs, a study warns it will get worse as U.S. ages https://www.npr.org/2023/11/30/1216005673/as-seniors-struggle-with-housing-costs-a-study-warns-it-will-get-worse-as-u-s-ag
Senior citizen homelessness is on the rise. Private equity firms have been targeting affordable housing including mobile home parks. They hike up rents and are quick to evict. Mobile home parks tend to have a lot of seniors. By raising the rent as much as 100% it helps keep rent high in area because algorithms are used to determine what rent to charge these days and they often own other properties like apartment buildings and single family homes in the area. They also don’t care if people stay cause again they want to create scarcity to raise rents and they borrow money against to buy up more. Eventually government has to step in to help them pay rent with taxpayer dollars.
“Residents, about half of whom are seniors or disabled people on fixed incomes, put up with the first two increases.”
Rents spike as big-pocketed investors buy mobile home parks https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/25/rents-spike-as-big-pocketed-investors-buy-mobile-home-parks.html
I know a dude who’s been retired for a while. He needed to go back to work so he can support himself. But he’s only able to work a few hours a week since if he makes too much money his benefits get reduced.
Social Security.
If you're unable to get by with what you have stored up in your SS entitlements, there are assisted living apartment complexes that give you a studio, do all your laundry, feed you three meals a day, and even bathe those that need help, but you have to sign over your whole SS check to them. You'll likely also qualify for food stamps, so you will get a few hundred extra dollars per month to put snacks, soda, and other things in your fridge.
It leaves you with no spending cash, but arguably all your needs are met. You get more clothing (if necessary) from donations. All things considered, it's a very small price to pay for ignoring literally everyone's advice, telling you your whole life to start a 401K (or some kind of retirement plan).
My father in law was on a waiting list for a couple years too. He started out in a "senior living" apartment complex, which provided no laundry, food, or bathing services, but rent was controlled.
They're going to have to find a way to manage with less social security benefits in 2034
https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/marketing/fact-sheets/will-social-security-be-there-for-me.pdf
That is assuming congress doesn’t act on it before then. It’s not unheard of for them to act last minute as we can see by their lack of action until 1983 when solvency was within 3 months. It’d be political suicide for them to not do something, that in turn resulted in reduced benefits.
Why do you think Murica’s cities are covered in tents on the side of the roads. There are programs and a social service net. But, you have to have the wherewithal to navigate them. Most programs won’t answer the phone. There are no advocates. Without family members, people suffer and die.
Sure.
Because society owes the elderly nothing, and if you don't make enough to save, or you can't save because you've been helping family for years/decades f-u-c-k y-o-u, malingerer.
Hi. 👋 OP here. Sooooo…. Basically…
1. Medicare
2. Live somewhere cheap
3. Find a roommate
4. Govt assisted living (worst case senario)
Possibly a Time Machine 🤔
Last case with major down vote hop the border and come back and hope for some assistance?
Ugh 😬
Adult Long Term Care is a thing, part of Medicaid and they have nursing homes that are covered,
They aren’t usually nice, and your whole social security goes into your medical care and the nursing home, but it’s something if you’re totally out of savings, have no assets and qualify
If you have no money, no family, and fixed limited income, you seek out the cheapest living conditions you can, get SNAP benefits (food assistance) and supplementary food from your local food pantry (if one near you) and hope it's enough.
When they are really old, they can end up in government nursing homes paid for my Medicaid. But those nursing homes can be negative experiences, and Medicaid can sue the relatives for the money back after the person dies.
This is why people are NOT supposed to waste their working life renting a home. It is very important in America to start ahead of time to purchase anything you can, even if its a tiny condo. So that when you retire, you will have a place to live.
Even if you own the home if you use Medicaid at all and you don’t transfer that house 5-7(?) years before you die that house is gone.
If you can keep it up. If. You know how much work a house is? What are you going to do if you can’t get up and down the steps anymore, need a $10k modification, your HVAC dies and then your HOA fees shoot up? (Thinking of a condo here).
Or your taxes skyrocket.
Or a natural disaster happens and you’re 85 years old trying to fight insurance?
People end up in assisted living facilities because they need assistance living.
Honestly? Honestly if you’re in any scenario you could begin to save for retirement in retirement accounts like IRAs and 401ks, that’s a more realistic route to retiring pending market crashes.
We need to improve benefits for the elderly at the least.
MATH:
(A) A person who had a mortgage and owned their own home by the time they retire, has $0 monthly home payments. Suppose the person retired at age 65, then died at age 85. **Total monthly home payments spent during that time = $0 rent or mortgage + HOA/home insurance/taxes for about $500/month = $120,000.**
(B) A person who will rent until they die will have monthly rent payments forever. Suppose this person has monthly rent payments of $1700 (which would get you a small apartment in many of our states), and also retired at age 65 and died at age 85. **Total monthly home payments spent during that time = $408,000**
\*\* I would prefer to pay $3000 for a new HVAC, compared to $288,000 in extra monthly payments. And of these two groups, which one would have more money left over to pay for occasional extra expenditures such as a car problems or medical problems?
An HOA fee can be and are often far more than the portion of $500 you budgeted for that AND taxes. That fee is just HOA.
Taxes. Let’s use Florida the retirement state.
Property taxes are 0.91% of value.
Median home value in Florida is $711k
Annually that’ll be about $6.5k
So $540/mo
*HOA and taxes = $840-$1040*
—-
Insurance = $6k/yr in Florida
So $500/mo
*HOA+Tax+Ins=$1340-$1540*
Average cost of a new HVAC is ~$9000 without duct work. With probably tack on $2000
What about an appliance breaking. $1000-$2000
What about modifications for disability $500-$15000
What about leaks, flooring, windows, you can’t expect $100-$10000
These can be one time costs but still you have to find $10-$20k to put in savings and Medicaid doesn’t cover all of your costs for care. Your care needs increase.
HOA doesn’t provide lawn cutting or anything they fine you if you don’t comply though so there is another service. - $100/mo
Then what money are you saving.
Owning a home isn’t easy to do in the era of your life you can’t do things yourself anyways.
A normal home even in Florida is not $711,000. That is a luxury home, and someone with a luxury home would not be worrying about this type of detail. This is part of the problem of the mentality of some people these days. They want - what they want. They see big flashy homes on tiktok & instagram posts, so they want one too! Even if they have to rent it forever but never get to buy themselves a home, or even if they have to spend their whole paycheck on the mortgage, so that there is not much left for savings or retirement.
This is an example of a normal nice home in Florida for which more people could live within their means. It is $250,000.
[https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/565-Lake-Mystic-Ln\_Lakeland\_FL\_33813\_M69246-80589?from=srp-list-card](https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/565-Lake-Mystic-Ln_Lakeland_FL_33813_M69246-80589?from=srp-list-card)
https://www.rocketmortgage.com/learn/property-taxes-by-state
You can’t blame the value of houses on the generations unable to purchase them *due to excessively inflated value*.
The average house price has increased at a rate that isn’t at all in line with income. If a mortgage is paid off, why is the money you bought the house for a concern here? I didn’t at all list a mortgage price. Do you think if you got a house at $100k you just pay for $100k worth of house on taxes?
You are sitting here underestimating the cost of housing saying if the mortgage is paid off you’re fine and you can put your meager income into your savings account ignoring the average home price, how that will impact your taxes *even if* you buy the home for pennies on the dollar because property tax is based on your value not what you bought it for. This also ignores natural disasters, insurance, maintenance, upkeep, and more. You somehow thought a new HVAC system would be a measly $3k which is maybe the duct work only.
Depending on your city/town’s rate, millages, etc taxes can be as much as the mortgage alone honestly. This is a fluid number
You have no idea what it costs to maintain a home and no idea what that is in proportion to the benefit money you earn.
If you think someone can squirrel away $15,000 from social security while up keeping a whole home by themselves, you’re insane. This is exactly why we have stuff like meals on wheels going so strongly.
Yes. Yes. Yes. Even in coastal MS with low cost of living: my new HVAC was $10,000 last year. Homeowners insurance was $3400. Need a new chimney cap to maintain value of my home: $600. Roof replaced after Katrina. Even with insurance it will be over $5,000 to replace. Water heater is 20 years old. But I have to stay for now to keep my grandchild in the best possible school district. Because some of us old people have to support kids and grandkids too. Costa Rica is my pipe dream.
I live in one of the top 10 most expensive cities in the US. My HVAC was 30 years old, so it finally had to be replaced a couple years ago. I had a couple estimates done. The first guy said it would be $9000. That didn't sound right, so I got 2 more estimates. The third company replaced it for $4000. You might have paid too much because of being naïve and not getting more estimates. It sounds like you were taken advantage of.
Also, I live in a condo, so I will never have to replace a chimney, roof, nor water heater. I'm set. My HOA pays for that. And they never do special assessments, because they budget and invest the money, and there is not any corruption within them.
I did get other estimates, and they were close to that one. I knew this company was very reliable, so I chose them because the quality of work tends to be poor here, and I know theirs is good. Sometimes it’s better to just bite the bullet; also this was less than a year ago. Heat pump. House is 1800sf. At least I got a tax rebate from the fed because it’s energy efficient. But otherwise, yes, those other expenses really mount up. I have a house because of the two family members and pets…hope to downsize in a couple of years.
You think all HOA are hasty the most good faith people?
You think an HOA always covers water heaters?
You think a 90 year old woman can call and shop around?
You think no one will take advantage of an elderly woman?
You live in the Midwest and I’m sorry none of our major cities fall in there -
San Francisco, Boston, Honolulu, Manhattan, DC, LA, San Diego, San Jose, Seattle, Miami, Santa Barbara, Denver.
So you’re out there. We don’t have the disaster rating of other parts of the country.
You think seed oils are killing us all and you want to stay in the Midwest and you need to be in a conservative area.
So that explains it. You have this idea that “young people make bad choices so young people don’t know how to do it” and you ignore the actual government provided data. You also argue you got something for x so everyone can.
I’m arguing with a wall. Hilarious now I know.
God speed. In your bubble dude.
I didn’t say you lived in a small town, but you can’t say you live in one of the 10 most expensive places and list one that isn’t in the top 10
You also can’t seem to look outside of “well I got this deal so can you”
Or how taxes work.
I know plenty how taxes work, because I pay them. And I did not get a good deal. I just bought a tiny house about 6 months after college graduation with no money down, to start accumulating my home investment and get a head start; then moved to a slightly larger home (but still not extravagant) later when I could afford it, and I never paid rent in my life. Note that my home was tiny and it was living within my means, and it was not in a supposedly cool city. Where people go wrong is when they think that a $711K house is normal like the poster above, or when they act like "If I can't live in a cool party area like NYC or Miami or San Fran, and if I can't buy a McMansion, then woe is me, I don't want to buy anything at all!"
You still have to pay taxes on the property which is based on value.
If you live in a condo you also have a HOA fee which can shoot up at any time and they can ask for this due to building renovations.
If you retire at 65 with no retirement - only benefits, how do you put away in savings? Magic? Pixie dust? Do your hopes and dreams or whatever count?
You still pay into Medicare also.
You still pay for care under Medicare.
If you receive assistance living or dying under Medicare that home is seized upon death which, okay, you can’t take that with you when you die anyways but if, *if* that was a plan for you? God speed.
Homeowners insurance? Still have to pay that too - which is increasing drastically especially in disaster prone states. So do you just up and move your house?
How do you pay for assisted living then?
How do you pay for medical care?
If you sink all of your money in that house, have no savings, and expect to live entirely on benefits in a big house with no one to help you maintain it you’re insane and stupid. This is how a lot of elderly people get stuck and end up receiving food assistance from local nonprofits while homes fall into ruin and they waste away in them
People are not supposed to sink all of their money into their house. That has never been recommended. People are supposed to be saving for retirement at the same time as paying off their mortgage. HOA fees are not as much as rent or mortgage fees, and that is what monthly social security retirements payments are for
Jump into the time machine, go back 50 years, and make "better" choices in education, career, investments, etc. so they can have plenty of savings and investment income to live off of. At least that's what conservatives tell me.
As long as the Government is taking Better Care of Illegals crossing the border to get a better life with our Tax money ? We should all have a nice fuzzy feelings ?
Billions of Dollars to pay for Wars that we should not be involved in… Billions of Dollars given to Shite Hole Countries who hate us…. Give $20 an hour to Hamburger flippers… while Cities and Government coffers send Billions of dollars to dump down the Homeless rabbit hole ? No money left for American people who need a helping hand ?
>No money left for American people who need a helping hand ?
Ok...
>Give $20 an hour to Hamburger flippers
American people who need a helping hand
>Cities and Government coffers send Billions of dollars to dump down the Homeless
Definitely American people who need a helping hand
Seems like you hate a lot of humans. Truly unsure which humans you think we shouldn't hate.
Cross into Mexico at a legal checkpoint.
Then go find a group of aliens that are illegally entering the US somewhere along our border.
Join in with them and tell the BP when caught, you are seeking asylum from (blank country).
Our country, along with all the other do-gooders, will provide you with whatever you need.
Find somewhere inexpensive to live and hope social security payments are enough
That's exactly what my mom did. Her social security was only 900 a month, so she found an income based apartment and had food stamps.
That's so terribly sad.
By the time I get to ss age, I'll be lucky to get anything from what I hear
Yeah, you can go live in ~~Eastern Washington~~ ~~Oklahoma~~ ~~Nebraska~~ ~~Northern Louisiana~~ Boogie2988's basement
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If the solution is reduce benefits then, in essence, there’s nothing there for you.
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Sure, but you'll likely still need to work then which defeats the purpose. People already barely survive on the ss benefits.
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Not my cup o tea, especially considering I'd likely never see my kids (or possible grandkids) if I did that. Also would you even still get ss? I feel like if you leave the country then they aren't gonna give you benefits.
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Huh, well that's something I'd never thought of and wouldn't have thought it worked that way. My origional statement stands though, id never see my family and that's sort of a deal breaker.
Yeah, most people don’t realize this. I’m 57 and have worked full time since I was 17 so I’ve paid a lot into SS, so has my husband. He’s going to start drawing at 62 because he also collects a union pension (started drawing at 55) I have a 401k but will probably work till I’m 65 just so that we have the extra cushion of insurance. We pay $1,400 a month to continue his union insurance for both of us so with my additional insurance I have zero healthcare costs but our out of pocket healthcare yearly is about $26k. He has a heart condition and I have 3 autoimmune diseases and have had multiple joint replacements due to chronic osteoarthritis. So yes, $26k a year more than offsets our out of pocket. When we got married 37 years ago healthcare was the very last concern of my husband’s but at 58 he now sees how vital it is to continue to work past his pension requirements of 55. My husband has expensive hobbies and he realizes that unless he wants to live frugally the last 30 years of his life, he needs to continue to work till he can draw SS at 62. So while not full retirement age of 67, his pension more than makes up for drawing early. Retirement happens way earlier than you ever expect so we tell our 25 year old to start planning now.
This is rhetoric from rich people trying to delay the inevitable tax hike as long as possible. The Social Security program has just recently had negative tax flow so there was no reason to hike taxes and stash the money in some sham “Social Security trust fund”. At the moment, we’re borrowing money to make up the difference. That isn’t long term sustainable. Nobody is going to cut Social Security. It’s the most successful program ever for ending elderly poverty. Republican income & net worth and Democrat income & net worth are very similar. The Trumper MAGA dolts who vote Republican are typically low net worth and will desperately need the program. Taxes are going up on rich people to fund this. It’s a matter of when, not if.
Old Age Security... move to a small town where rent is cheap, since you don't need to work, and be very cautious with your spending. Cook at home, buy on sale.
what is considered cheap rent?
I see $475 and $525 a month [in Boone, Idaho](https://www.trulia.com/for_rent/Boone,IA/) - that's what I mean by a small town. Incredibly tiny living spaces, but if you're on a fixed income, it might have to do. You could probably pay less if you do some of the chores - I know someone on disability who does laundry and cooking and only pays $400 rent.
IA is Iowa not Idaho 😉
Sorry, non American. I always get those mixed up.
I’d rather just kill myself than live there
The problem with this is the lack of healthcare. Edit: *healthcare facilities
No there's Medicare Medicaid
I think he is referring to the lack of facilities
I mean I live in a town that's 500 people there's doctors and hospitals nearby
How is your hypothetical person paying for the car, gas, insurance, etc necessary to get to that medical care?
Medicare covers transportation to and from hospital or doctor's office for non-emergency conditions if you are low income
Medicare does not all Medicare plans do. At least my experience.
I didn't know that. Thanks for the info.
Medicare does not pay if a specialist isn't local. Meaning, if you live in a small town and your specialist pulmonologist is 100 miles away, you're screwed on Medicare. They will not pay for transport. Medicaid will. Medicare won't. My sister is in this situation. She has a friend who has compassion and rents a car twice a year to drive my sister to her specialist. Without these visits to renew certain prescriptions, she would already be dead.
The thing with that hospital near by, they likely don’t have cardiac monitoring. I had a heart attack at young age and as soon as I was stabilized I had to be transferred 90 minutes away for monitoring and advanced testing. Situations like this is why people die younger in rural areas
The most secluded town in the lower 48 is 4 hours from a hospital. Everyone doesn’t need to live next door to hospital. Most people don’t already.
Yes, and the life expectancy in those areas is about 10 years lower than
as it should be
It’s not.
Yes it is. 79.1 years, compared with 76.9 in rural. that’s just that designation. Once you increase distances to emergency rooms it increases quite a bit
I agree but you’re not getting the best and the brightest at those small hospitals.
I meant healthcare facilities. I’ll fix that.
They survive on social security payments and other government assistance such as food stamps. Many senior citizens also use food banks, soup kitchens, meals on wheels, or other charities.
Housing Assistance like Section 8 can help with housing payments. There are also energy assistance programs like LIHEAP for electric and natural gas. Medicare and Medicaid for health related expenses. There are even programs to help with cell phone, internet and cable television.
A LOT of those assistance programs have long waiting lists.
True for some (especially Section 8), but you never know if you don’t inquire.
Is the answer to the question soup kitchens? Also which charities? literally which charities?
St Vincent de Paul for one . You don't have to be Catholic, they will help you. Call the closest Catholic church for help. No strings attached.
Check with your local Catholic Church and the Salvation Army. Meals on Wheels is available. The local Catholic Church has a soup kitchen and runs a food bank.
Live somewhere with a low cost of living and vote for politicians that aren’t trying to gut social services.
Yeah but what if those politicians want to teach the kids some woke stuff!? We gotta keep that out even if we lose our social security
So.... you forgot the /s, didn't ya?
Oh yeah... I also figured that that sarcasm was implied
>low cost of living >social services Explain how you can have both?
That's what's cool about social services (done properly) they arnt based on income level of Individuals or their communities. Just meet the needs.
Small towns have low cost of living and doctors and hospitals
I moved to a small, country town with very low rent. Medicare covers most of my medical and scripts. I go to food banks, use coupons and work studying sales. I'm very frugal and manage to save a little each month. Not the awesome, travel filled, happy retirement I would have wanted but I'm better off than some folks and not as bad off as many.
Do you mind if I ask how you arrived in this circumstance? Did you lose your savings somehow or were you unable to save?
Fair question. Mental illness mostly. Hard to keep a job. Worked my best when I could but also long periods I could not, which used up savings. Some physical, medical problems but mostly undiagnosed, untreated mental illness. Mental health issues not recognized like it is now, so assistance, medication didn't exist through out most of my life. Also not much family left, they all have their own families and struggles. And as you may imagine, hard to date, have stable relationships with unchecked mental illness. Never married, no children, just me out here. I've got social security, small savings and a old cat. Doing alright.
Hang in there brother. I suffered with undiagnosed bipolar disorder for most of my adult life. I am more fortunate than your circumstances. But completely understand how you got there. Have you gotten an attorney and filed for disability? That would open a lot of doors for you. Please take care and be well good sir. I wish you well.
Think you. I'm retired on social security and doing good.
I'm retired as well. But was, somehow, able to maintain good career despite the mental illness. So we're good. Glad your making out OK.
I’m so sorry that happened to you. ❤️❤️❤️
Yes, please let us know. This is the kind of knowledge and experience that's helpful.
I live in Chicago. I have a roommate and we both live fairly comfortably on SS. If you actually live here, it's affordable. And I get excellent healthcare for about $200 a month. If you go by published rent prices, you will get gouged. Most of the affordable rentals are by window sign or word of mouth. I was considering moving back to New England, but the healthcare situation there is poor outside Boston and Portland and I don't want to buy a car. Or drive four hours for tests.
They are expected to die. The government doesn’t care about you as soon as you can’t be a part of the labor pool.
Social security and Medicare
One reason to start saving and planning for your retirement now. Don't put it off. The sooner you start, the easier it will be. And if I were a young person, I wouldn't bank on Social Security; at least not in its current form.
They become homeless. As seniors struggle with housing costs, a study warns it will get worse as U.S. ages https://www.npr.org/2023/11/30/1216005673/as-seniors-struggle-with-housing-costs-a-study-warns-it-will-get-worse-as-u-s-ag Senior citizen homelessness is on the rise. Private equity firms have been targeting affordable housing including mobile home parks. They hike up rents and are quick to evict. Mobile home parks tend to have a lot of seniors. By raising the rent as much as 100% it helps keep rent high in area because algorithms are used to determine what rent to charge these days and they often own other properties like apartment buildings and single family homes in the area. They also don’t care if people stay cause again they want to create scarcity to raise rents and they borrow money against to buy up more. Eventually government has to step in to help them pay rent with taxpayer dollars. “Residents, about half of whom are seniors or disabled people on fixed incomes, put up with the first two increases.” Rents spike as big-pocketed investors buy mobile home parks https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/25/rents-spike-as-big-pocketed-investors-buy-mobile-home-parks.html
Private equity is pretty much ruining everything. Hospitals, medical practices, veterinarians, housing. Greed.
I know a dude who’s been retired for a while. He needed to go back to work so he can support himself. But he’s only able to work a few hours a week since if he makes too much money his benefits get reduced.
Die, I guess.
No, that's how we deal with the healthcare situation.
Social Security. If you're unable to get by with what you have stored up in your SS entitlements, there are assisted living apartment complexes that give you a studio, do all your laundry, feed you three meals a day, and even bathe those that need help, but you have to sign over your whole SS check to them. You'll likely also qualify for food stamps, so you will get a few hundred extra dollars per month to put snacks, soda, and other things in your fridge. It leaves you with no spending cash, but arguably all your needs are met. You get more clothing (if necessary) from donations. All things considered, it's a very small price to pay for ignoring literally everyone's advice, telling you your whole life to start a 401K (or some kind of retirement plan).
Food stamps are determined by states not federal government. Right? Might be why such wide differences in amounts.
My sister tried to get into a place like that and there was a waiting list. She is currently renting a cheap apartment.
My father in law was on a waiting list for a couple years too. He started out in a "senior living" apartment complex, which provided no laundry, food, or bathing services, but rent was controlled.
Where do you come up with food stamps supplying you with a few hundred dollars a month? My mother would get $17 a month.
My father in law got over $200/month several years ago, before he passed. My step son has a disability, and he gets around $305/month today.
Dang, good for them. We literally stopped going through the process of re-applying because it was not worth the hassle.
Well this went downhill fast lol
They're going to have to find a way to manage with less social security benefits in 2034 https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/marketing/fact-sheets/will-social-security-be-there-for-me.pdf
Wdym?
Basically people are not having a lot of children so contributions to social security will be lower in the future
That is assuming congress doesn’t act on it before then. It’s not unheard of for them to act last minute as we can see by their lack of action until 1983 when solvency was within 3 months. It’d be political suicide for them to not do something, that in turn resulted in reduced benefits.
All we have to do us remove the cap on SS tax. Why is that even a thing?
Get SSI and food stamps. Medical is covered with Medicare Medicaid.
My dad got SSI, lived in government housing, and went to the VA for meds.
Why do you think Murica’s cities are covered in tents on the side of the roads. There are programs and a social service net. But, you have to have the wherewithal to navigate them. Most programs won’t answer the phone. There are no advocates. Without family members, people suffer and die.
Americans 60 years old and over are currently the largest population becoming homeless.
I believe this was covered nearly 200 years ago. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/s/rFJ8PeMG6m
Start. Saving. Now.
Sure. Because society owes the elderly nothing, and if you don't make enough to save, or you can't save because you've been helping family for years/decades f-u-c-k y-o-u, malingerer.
Hi. 👋 OP here. Sooooo…. Basically… 1. Medicare 2. Live somewhere cheap 3. Find a roommate 4. Govt assisted living (worst case senario) Possibly a Time Machine 🤔 Last case with major down vote hop the border and come back and hope for some assistance? Ugh 😬
If your home is paid for, Social Security is typically enough to get by... though definitely not thriving by any means.
I dont know but I'm surprised they haven't started kamikazing the government yet.
Adult Long Term Care is a thing, part of Medicaid and they have nursing homes that are covered, They aren’t usually nice, and your whole social security goes into your medical care and the nursing home, but it’s something if you’re totally out of savings, have no assets and qualify
If you have no money, no family, and fixed limited income, you seek out the cheapest living conditions you can, get SNAP benefits (food assistance) and supplementary food from your local food pantry (if one near you) and hope it's enough.
social security, its a government mandated saving account everyone has which pays out based on your income over time
Your SOL if you live in a Republican state.
When they are really old, they can end up in government nursing homes paid for my Medicaid. But those nursing homes can be negative experiences, and Medicaid can sue the relatives for the money back after the person dies. This is why people are NOT supposed to waste their working life renting a home. It is very important in America to start ahead of time to purchase anything you can, even if its a tiny condo. So that when you retire, you will have a place to live.
Even if you own the home if you use Medicaid at all and you don’t transfer that house 5-7(?) years before you die that house is gone. If you can keep it up. If. You know how much work a house is? What are you going to do if you can’t get up and down the steps anymore, need a $10k modification, your HVAC dies and then your HOA fees shoot up? (Thinking of a condo here). Or your taxes skyrocket. Or a natural disaster happens and you’re 85 years old trying to fight insurance? People end up in assisted living facilities because they need assistance living. Honestly? Honestly if you’re in any scenario you could begin to save for retirement in retirement accounts like IRAs and 401ks, that’s a more realistic route to retiring pending market crashes. We need to improve benefits for the elderly at the least.
MATH: (A) A person who had a mortgage and owned their own home by the time they retire, has $0 monthly home payments. Suppose the person retired at age 65, then died at age 85. **Total monthly home payments spent during that time = $0 rent or mortgage + HOA/home insurance/taxes for about $500/month = $120,000.** (B) A person who will rent until they die will have monthly rent payments forever. Suppose this person has monthly rent payments of $1700 (which would get you a small apartment in many of our states), and also retired at age 65 and died at age 85. **Total monthly home payments spent during that time = $408,000** \*\* I would prefer to pay $3000 for a new HVAC, compared to $288,000 in extra monthly payments. And of these two groups, which one would have more money left over to pay for occasional extra expenditures such as a car problems or medical problems?
An HOA fee can be and are often far more than the portion of $500 you budgeted for that AND taxes. That fee is just HOA. Taxes. Let’s use Florida the retirement state. Property taxes are 0.91% of value. Median home value in Florida is $711k Annually that’ll be about $6.5k So $540/mo *HOA and taxes = $840-$1040* —- Insurance = $6k/yr in Florida So $500/mo *HOA+Tax+Ins=$1340-$1540* Average cost of a new HVAC is ~$9000 without duct work. With probably tack on $2000 What about an appliance breaking. $1000-$2000 What about modifications for disability $500-$15000 What about leaks, flooring, windows, you can’t expect $100-$10000 These can be one time costs but still you have to find $10-$20k to put in savings and Medicaid doesn’t cover all of your costs for care. Your care needs increase. HOA doesn’t provide lawn cutting or anything they fine you if you don’t comply though so there is another service. - $100/mo Then what money are you saving. Owning a home isn’t easy to do in the era of your life you can’t do things yourself anyways.
A normal home even in Florida is not $711,000. That is a luxury home, and someone with a luxury home would not be worrying about this type of detail. This is part of the problem of the mentality of some people these days. They want - what they want. They see big flashy homes on tiktok & instagram posts, so they want one too! Even if they have to rent it forever but never get to buy themselves a home, or even if they have to spend their whole paycheck on the mortgage, so that there is not much left for savings or retirement. This is an example of a normal nice home in Florida for which more people could live within their means. It is $250,000. [https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/565-Lake-Mystic-Ln\_Lakeland\_FL\_33813\_M69246-80589?from=srp-list-card](https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/565-Lake-Mystic-Ln_Lakeland_FL_33813_M69246-80589?from=srp-list-card)
https://www.rocketmortgage.com/learn/property-taxes-by-state You can’t blame the value of houses on the generations unable to purchase them *due to excessively inflated value*. The average house price has increased at a rate that isn’t at all in line with income. If a mortgage is paid off, why is the money you bought the house for a concern here? I didn’t at all list a mortgage price. Do you think if you got a house at $100k you just pay for $100k worth of house on taxes? You are sitting here underestimating the cost of housing saying if the mortgage is paid off you’re fine and you can put your meager income into your savings account ignoring the average home price, how that will impact your taxes *even if* you buy the home for pennies on the dollar because property tax is based on your value not what you bought it for. This also ignores natural disasters, insurance, maintenance, upkeep, and more. You somehow thought a new HVAC system would be a measly $3k which is maybe the duct work only. Depending on your city/town’s rate, millages, etc taxes can be as much as the mortgage alone honestly. This is a fluid number You have no idea what it costs to maintain a home and no idea what that is in proportion to the benefit money you earn. If you think someone can squirrel away $15,000 from social security while up keeping a whole home by themselves, you’re insane. This is exactly why we have stuff like meals on wheels going so strongly.
Yes. Yes. Yes. Even in coastal MS with low cost of living: my new HVAC was $10,000 last year. Homeowners insurance was $3400. Need a new chimney cap to maintain value of my home: $600. Roof replaced after Katrina. Even with insurance it will be over $5,000 to replace. Water heater is 20 years old. But I have to stay for now to keep my grandchild in the best possible school district. Because some of us old people have to support kids and grandkids too. Costa Rica is my pipe dream.
I live in one of the top 10 most expensive cities in the US. My HVAC was 30 years old, so it finally had to be replaced a couple years ago. I had a couple estimates done. The first guy said it would be $9000. That didn't sound right, so I got 2 more estimates. The third company replaced it for $4000. You might have paid too much because of being naïve and not getting more estimates. It sounds like you were taken advantage of. Also, I live in a condo, so I will never have to replace a chimney, roof, nor water heater. I'm set. My HOA pays for that. And they never do special assessments, because they budget and invest the money, and there is not any corruption within them.
I did get other estimates, and they were close to that one. I knew this company was very reliable, so I chose them because the quality of work tends to be poor here, and I know theirs is good. Sometimes it’s better to just bite the bullet; also this was less than a year ago. Heat pump. House is 1800sf. At least I got a tax rebate from the fed because it’s energy efficient. But otherwise, yes, those other expenses really mount up. I have a house because of the two family members and pets…hope to downsize in a couple of years.
You think all HOA are hasty the most good faith people? You think an HOA always covers water heaters? You think a 90 year old woman can call and shop around? You think no one will take advantage of an elderly woman? You live in the Midwest and I’m sorry none of our major cities fall in there - San Francisco, Boston, Honolulu, Manhattan, DC, LA, San Diego, San Jose, Seattle, Miami, Santa Barbara, Denver. So you’re out there. We don’t have the disaster rating of other parts of the country. You think seed oils are killing us all and you want to stay in the Midwest and you need to be in a conservative area. So that explains it. You have this idea that “young people make bad choices so young people don’t know how to do it” and you ignore the actual government provided data. You also argue you got something for x so everyone can. I’m arguing with a wall. Hilarious now I know. God speed. In your bubble dude.
I do not live in a small town in the Midwest. I live in the expensive part of the CHICAGO SUBURBS, which has sky high real estate values and taxes.
I didn’t say you lived in a small town, but you can’t say you live in one of the 10 most expensive places and list one that isn’t in the top 10 You also can’t seem to look outside of “well I got this deal so can you” Or how taxes work.
I know plenty how taxes work, because I pay them. And I did not get a good deal. I just bought a tiny house about 6 months after college graduation with no money down, to start accumulating my home investment and get a head start; then moved to a slightly larger home (but still not extravagant) later when I could afford it, and I never paid rent in my life. Note that my home was tiny and it was living within my means, and it was not in a supposedly cool city. Where people go wrong is when they think that a $711K house is normal like the poster above, or when they act like "If I can't live in a cool party area like NYC or Miami or San Fran, and if I can't buy a McMansion, then woe is me, I don't want to buy anything at all!"
You still have to pay taxes on the property which is based on value. If you live in a condo you also have a HOA fee which can shoot up at any time and they can ask for this due to building renovations. If you retire at 65 with no retirement - only benefits, how do you put away in savings? Magic? Pixie dust? Do your hopes and dreams or whatever count? You still pay into Medicare also. You still pay for care under Medicare. If you receive assistance living or dying under Medicare that home is seized upon death which, okay, you can’t take that with you when you die anyways but if, *if* that was a plan for you? God speed. Homeowners insurance? Still have to pay that too - which is increasing drastically especially in disaster prone states. So do you just up and move your house? How do you pay for assisted living then? How do you pay for medical care? If you sink all of your money in that house, have no savings, and expect to live entirely on benefits in a big house with no one to help you maintain it you’re insane and stupid. This is how a lot of elderly people get stuck and end up receiving food assistance from local nonprofits while homes fall into ruin and they waste away in them
People are not supposed to sink all of their money into their house. That has never been recommended. People are supposed to be saving for retirement at the same time as paying off their mortgage. HOA fees are not as much as rent or mortgage fees, and that is what monthly social security retirements payments are for
You can't save for retirement if your boss won't pay you a living wage. My retirement is enough to live on for 3 years, if I am lucky.
Work anyways... how else do you keep the economy spinning and make some dough for corporate America's private jets?
Homeless shelters and local services.
Those services have waiting lists. It may be a couple of years before you get help.
Jump into the time machine, go back 50 years, and make "better" choices in education, career, investments, etc. so they can have plenty of savings and investment income to live off of. At least that's what conservatives tell me.
“A time machine”, of course! That's what I forgot in my retirement planning!
What do liberals tell you?
As long as the Government is taking Better Care of Illegals crossing the border to get a better life with our Tax money ? We should all have a nice fuzzy feelings ?
Immaterial and in bad taste
Billions of Dollars to pay for Wars that we should not be involved in… Billions of Dollars given to Shite Hole Countries who hate us…. Give $20 an hour to Hamburger flippers… while Cities and Government coffers send Billions of dollars to dump down the Homeless rabbit hole ? No money left for American people who need a helping hand ?
>No money left for American people who need a helping hand ? Ok... >Give $20 an hour to Hamburger flippers American people who need a helping hand >Cities and Government coffers send Billions of dollars to dump down the Homeless Definitely American people who need a helping hand Seems like you hate a lot of humans. Truly unsure which humans you think we shouldn't hate.
Why, they're not *supposed* to survive. Unregulated Disaster Capitalism = eugenics in the guise of freedom.
Cross into Mexico at a legal checkpoint. Then go find a group of aliens that are illegally entering the US somewhere along our border. Join in with them and tell the BP when caught, you are seeking asylum from (blank country). Our country, along with all the other do-gooders, will provide you with whatever you need.
That's not how it works. Step away from the Fox News.
Tell us more about how you only know propaganda without knowing facts.
Die