A recent survey by AARP reveals that many NJ senior citizens are having a hard time meeting their financial obligations and getting adequate health coverage. Healthcare costs continue to rise and benefits are shrinking. The fear is real as more and more seniors find themselves working well into their golden years in order to support themselves. Read the below article and review the survey.
Peter Van Ness used to be the picture of financial health: perfect credit scores, quick to pay down his credit cards, never late on bills. During 50 years of work, he said, not once did he need help making ends meet.
But he could use some help now.
“I am being buried,” said Van Ness, 67, of West Milford, who still works but must pay for his bedridden mother’s medical expenses, has three kids in college and won’t be getting any retirement benefits from his company.
“I have real problems even trying to supply food for the family,” he said. “Whoever said the golden years are your best years — I laugh like hell.”
Van Ness was one of 400 New Jersey residents over age 50 polled for a survey to be released today by the AARP. Like him, many of the respondents said they’re having a hard time meeting their financial obligations and getting adequate health coverage. About two-thirds said they don’t have all the resources or information they need to stay healthy, and three in four said they worry about the levels of Social Security and Medicare benefits.
“It shouldn’t be surprising that there’s real palpable fear out there because seniors are suffering,” said Douglas Johnston, legislative director for AARP-NJ. He said the state’s utility costs, for example, have risen for the last five or six years while Social Security payments, a major source of income, have remained flat the last two years.
“I frankly don’t know how they do it,” he said. “The median amount Social Security recipients get per year is $10,400. How do you live on $10,400 anywhere, especially an expensive state like New Jersey?”
Harry Padden of Irvington, 58, is nearing retirement from his job as an inspector for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, but he fears his pension may be cut before he leaves and said he’s already paying more for health care.
“I’m squeaking through paying my bills,” he said. “I’ve considered moving to Georgia or Florida — there’s higher wages and it costs you less. My daughter has indicated that if I go, she’s going to follow.”
The survey also found 84 percent of residents would prefer to get long-term care at home or in an assisted-living facility, as opposed to a nursing home. Johnston said the state could save money by investing more in home-based care, which he said costs one-third of what nursing homes cost.
“It gives people what they want, we’ve never met a legislator or governor who doesn’t agree — and yet it never seems to happen,” he said.
The AARP survey also asked New Jerseyans over 50 what they most want to do in their retirement years. Forty-two percent said travel, 23 percent said they would focus on hobbies and interests, 8 percent mentioned their jobs or careers and 6 percent said they would devote themselves to their families.
Though he talks of moving, Padden said spending time with his family was a major reason he’s still in New Jersey.
“My grandson is in a basketball team, and I don’t really miss a game,” he said. “I’m driving over now.”
