The AARP told seniors living on fixed incomes that they are most vulnerable to rising prices because seniors living on fixed incomes are the most vulnerable to it because of the month after month of sky-high inflation.
The advocacy organization for older adults recently held a virtual town hall called Inflation and You: How to Manage Your Money, Cut Costs and Avoid Panicking, allowing its members to call in with questions on how to weather the current economic storm. It was flooded with callers, with some sharing heartbreaking stories and expressing concerns about how they were going to make it.
AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins told the audience that they hear about the questions and confusion you're facing because of COVID and inflation. You know that the pandemic has impacted people very differently, but right now everyone is feeling the impact of inflation and supply chain issues. Jenkins pointed out that nearly half of adults over the age of 50 are worried about prices going higher than their income and that nearly half of them have cut back on basic expenses like food and gas in the past year, despite the soaring costs of groceries and how gas prices soared to record highs over the summer.
The prices are rising and the stock market is lower, and we're hearing from older adults who are delaying retirement, according to an AARP survey from May showing that 42% of adults over 50 and older have returned to work in retirement for financial reasons or expect to be forced to do so.
Financial Guru Suze Orman also fielded questions on the call and heard from a man who was in that spot. It's not easy to return to the workforce as a caregiver for his wife who has Parkinson's dementia.
He said he has no debt and that he has a house and vehicle and that he needs to increase his income stream. I have to stay at home to take care of my wife and I just don't know what to do. Another caller expressed concern over the rising cost of rent, asking if it would ever go down. Someone said that their 401 k has been losing money with what the stock market is doing, and wondered if they should move some of it in case things get worse. There were too many inquiries for the panel to get to, as they came in from the Facebook comment section.
Multiple people said they were considering reverse mortgages. One person wrote, I was planning to retire next year, but that seems off the table. The discussion was not all doom and gloom. Orman pointed out that Social Security payments will likely rise somewhere between 8 or 9% starting next year due to the high inflation. They also provided investment options for those considering making adjustments. Several viewers expressed their gratitude for the information provided.
Jenkins signaled early on that they knew the topic would be popular.
This is an election year, and we've been talking with older voters about what issues matter most to them, the CEO said.