Seniors will face penny-pinching decisions
Published 1:13 pm Monday, August 31, 2009
For some of the 100,887 Snohomish County seniors receiving Social Security checks, a cost-of-living freeze next year will be a hardship that requires scrimping and saving. For others it will go unnoticed.
The projected two-year freeze will be the first since automatic increases were adopted in 1975.
“It makes a big difference,” said Pat Yocum, 66, of Everett. “It was kind of nice to have a little extra money — despite the fact that it got eaten up by rising food costs.”
She lives off about $900 a month and says every dollar gets used.
Because cost-of-living adjustments are pegged to inflation, which has been negative this year, the trustees who oversee Social Security are projecting there won’t be an adjustment for two years. Last year, payments went up an unusually high 5.8 percent.
“People who rely strictly on Social Security need that cost-of-living adjustment,” said John Egan, 64, of Everett. “They don’t have the luxury I have of saying, ‘Well, if I don’t get it, it won’t hurt me much.’ Most of my friends here at the Everett Senior Center rely on every penny they get from Social Security.”
About 50 million retired and disabled Americans receive Social Security. The average monthly benefit for retirees is $1,153 this year.
Around 6 million Americans will see their Social Security checks shrink next year because they have premiums from the Medicare prescription drug program deducted from their Social Security payments. The premiums are set to go up slightly.
There are programs designed to help low-income seniors pay Medicare premiums. Around 30,000 seniors call Senior Services of Snohomish County each year looking for help enrolling in those programs or asking for financial assistance to make ends meet, said Bob Quirk, social services director.
“We get calls from people now having a tough time,” he said. “I can imagine it’s just going to make things tight for people.”
Some politicians are pushing the government to increase Social Security benefits next year, even though the formula doesn’t call for it.
Critics argue that increasing payments would just add to the nation’s debt. Social Security recipients received a big increase in January, as well as one-time $250 payments in the spring as part of the government’s economic stimulus package.
Lake Stevens resident Linda Wright, 68, believes it’s wrong for the government not to offer a cost-of-living adjustment this year when seniors have come to depend on the increases to offset the rising cost of food, gas and medicine.
When she retired years ago from her position as a senior administrator at GTE, she thought she had enough money saved and invested to cover her retirement. When the stock market crashed and medical bills rose unexpectedly, her savings dwindled.
Seniors should be able to depend on Social Security, she said.
“It’s just a kick in the butt to be told there’s going to be nothing,” she said. “It’s almost a joke.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Kaitlin Manry: 425-339-3292, kmanry@heraldnet.com.
