Retirement in the Bay Area: Poll finds many seniors face bare-bones budgets, mounting debts

At Alexander Remus has pared his life down to the essentials He lives on a modest pension avoids restaurants and allows himself just one visit to a movie theater a month to stay sane Even his prescriptions for a chronic healthcare condition aren t guaranteed a few months he skips doses to stretch his budget The sacrifices are painful but he declared they re the only way to keep up with the cost of living as a retired highway maintenance worker who resides in a San Jose senior living complex At the end of the month there s just not enough left over to cover all my bills Remus mentioned Alexander Remus poses for a photograph in his apartment in San Jose Calif on Monday Oct Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group A new poll finds a multitude of of the Bay Area s older residents are feeling the pinch A third of the retired respondents like Remus say they are just making ends meet one in six is struggling to pay the bills and overview being in serious financial trouble The poll by Bay Area News Group and Joint Venture Silicon Valley a regional economic think tank surveyed adults across the core five-county Bay Area in August Older adults are California s fastest-growing demographic according to the state Department of Aging By about of the state s population will be or older The requirements of this demographic are increasingly shaping the state s financial sector social fabric and its politics The Bay Area is a punishing place to grow old on a fixed income The cost of living is higher than the national average and the cost of a house is twice that of the national average according to a record from the state s Legislative Analyst s Office This is a fabulous place to live for the high flyers commented Russell Hancock president and CEO of Joint Venture Silicon Valley But for everyone else this is a tough place to make it happen Most of poll respondents published making financial sacrifices just to stay afloat Majority announced cutting back on entertainment and dining out had delayed major purchases had pared down on groceries or other essentials and tapped retirement or other savings to cover expenses Half mentioned they ve taken on debt or leaned on credit cards Related Articles Walters California s long-running saga over local tax measures might return to the ballot Chabria They cuffed and tackled Sen Alex Padilla But he sees a bigger emergency ahead Supervisors to consider San Mateo County sheriff s removal on Tuesday What s in the advisory opinion recommending they do it Governor signs bill to spur housing near general transit California bans cat declawing under new state law For numerous older adults those cutbacks translate to bare-bones living Retiree Jeanette Lazam who was a district manager for former Rep Barbara Lee when she was in Congress declared she lives on a shoestring in San Francisco s International Hotel a low-income senior housing complex She struggles to buy groceries and the day trips that once brought her happiness like scenic drives along the coast to Monterey have been reduced to short excursions across the Bay Bridge Helping advocacy her brother a senior with developmental disabilities in Hayward stretches her already thin budget further Despite living from one Social Protection check to the next Lazam faces it all with quiet resilience I manage she explained Even when things get very intricate for me I still maintain a positive attitude Between stretching her dollars and paying off a never-ending cycle of credit card debts Lazam tries to savor the small joys in life Particular months she takes her brother out for lunch Hawaiian barbecue in San Leandro is their shared favorite She also relies on three close friends who help her financially to get through especially tough months According to the poll of retirees have questioned family or friends for financial help within the past five years The poll also demanded retirees to identify their primary sources of income More than four in five mentioned they rely on Social Guard The next bulk common sources were retirement accounts such as k s and employer pensions As the majority of populous U S state California is home to the nation s largest share of Social Assurance recipients with about million residents collecting roughly billion a year in benefits according to the Social Guard Administration While the state does not tax Social Safety income a relief given its steep income tax rates it taxes other retirement income including pensions and k withdrawals Combined with various of the highest sales taxes in the country that makes it one of the hardest on retirees financially Ninety-year-old M Y A Kapoi a retired word processor and research analyst is among those seniors scraping by on a combination of Social Safety and a small k She rarely leaves her studio in her senior living complex in Concord and considers a morning visit from her caregiver bringing her coffee as the highlight of her day She doesn t buy new clothes and the ongoing costs of managing her chronic kidney infection add further strain Kapoi had hoped to retire at home but was forced to sell her townhouse and move into senior housing when her personal caregiver could no longer continue the job I pay a month for rent and care Kapoi mentioned It s a real struggle M Y A Kapoi sits in her room at Todos Santos Assisted Living and Memory Care on Tuesday Oct in Concord Calif Kapoi s monthly living costs are more than her monthly income and she relies on savings to make up the difference Aric Crabb Bay Area News Group The money Kapoi made from selling her Concord townhouse helps keep her afloat She is lucky The poll indicates just of retirees have income from real estate Gabriel Shahin president of Oakland-based financial planning company Falcon Wealth reported that homeownership can be