Mark Hoffe
Special to SaltWire
According to a report titled “What Golden Years?” – released in November 2023 by Susan Walsh, Seniors’ Advocate for Newfoundland and Labrador – 32 per cent of seniors across the province do not have enough income to meet their financial needs and struggle to afford food, rent, and medications.
This contributes to poorer health outcomes and reduced quality of life.
Through an extensive consultation process with approximately 1,400 low-income seniors, the report attempts to address how the rising cost of living affects the portion of our population who are supposed to be enjoying their so-called “golden years.”
Seniors reported experiencing no-fault evictions – meaning the landlord does not have to provide a reason for the eviction – and suffering homelessness because they can’t afford rising rents.
Other seniors had to leave their homes and enter personal care or long-term care. Many seniors said accessing food banks is a physical and financial challenge.
Why the gap?
When seniors were asked why they don’t have enough income to meet their needs, 49 per cent attributed it to the cost of living and 39 per cent cited insufficient provincial and federal benefits and inadequate pension income as the cause.
It’s important to note that Walsh’s report surveyed seniors after the 10 per cent increase in the NL Seniors’ Benefit in July 2022 – the previous increase occurred approximately six years earlier.
Although the NL Seniors’ benefit increased another five per cent in 2023, the increases only equal approximately $200 per year for seniors receiving the maximum benefit.
5,000 calls every year
Elizabeth Siegel is the director of information and referral services at SeniorsNL, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the independence and well-being of seniors through the provision of information and various programs and services.
“SeniorsNL has a seniors information line, and we get about 5,000 calls every year from both seniors and those that support them and we direct them to resources and support,” Siegel said.
“I would say almost every single call that we get has some element of finances involved, so we are definitely hearing from people needing emergency food, not being able to pay for rent, not being able to pay for medication, that sort of thing.”
Buying power reduced
As reported by Walsh, the COVID-19 pandemic, continued international supply chain disruptions, rising interest rates, inflation and the housing crisis all contributed to the steep rise in the cost of living since 2019. Most seniors live on fixed incomes with limited opportunities to supplement their incomes, so their buying power is greatly reduced.
Even seniors who were able to plan and save for their retirement are feeling a significant budget crunch.
“We don’t do any big travel anymore, like we don’t go out of the country anymore,” said Peggy, a senior in her 70s who still lives in her rural Newfoundland home with her husband Tony. Their last names and location are not included by request.
“We gave that up,” she said. “It’s too risky with health problems and stuff. Travelling with insurance gets really expensive. Sometimes you’re not covered if anything happens. We just stay in Canada now. I love the Moncton area.”
'The prices are just crazy'
Peggy and Tony don’t eat in restaurants as much as they used to because “the prices are just crazy,” and they shop around for specials when buying meat and other groceries.
The rising cost of food shocks her.
“It’s amazing to see the prices of apples and oranges,” Peggy said.
“We eat a lot of oranges. The only thing I find that’s not gone up is bananas. Bananas are reasonable. I wouldn’t want to have three or four kids, or even two kids, now to feed to give them healthy food and stuff. You can buy junk food cheaper than you can buy healthy food.”
"We are definitely hearing from people needing emergency food, not being able to pay for rent, not being able to pay for medication, that sort of thing.”
— Elizabeth Siegel
Even travel to visit their family in St. John’s is affected.
“We used to leave here and go to town and get a hotel for around $100 a night, a nice hotel, just to go in for a couple of nights and be close to the family and stuff,” Peggy said.
“But now you’re looking at $200 a night, so you kind of think, is it worth it? It’s not always what you can afford, it’s what you think is reasonable.”
Making cautious choices
Lynn agrees. She lives in the Conception Bay South area with her husband Larry. Both are in their 80s. Their last names are also withheld by request.
“We don’t necessarily feel the cost of living is affecting our daily lives negatively,” Lynn said.
“It’s more a case of being more aware of where, when and how we are spending our fixed income and sometimes making choices which previously we wouldn’t even have considered.”
The couple restricts travel to within the province and, due to the price of gas, they “consolidate and plan routes for errands.”
Lynn said they “are being realistic about the disposable dollars available and where to best spend them at this stage in our lives.”
Not enough support
Peggy doesn’t feel the government does enough to support seniors, especially when it comes to taxes.
“You save for retirement, you buy RSPs and all this, and then you take them out when you retire, and you have to pay a lot of tax on them,” she said.
“I know you get a tax break when you take them out, but I don’t think you should have to pay taxes when you’re retired. When you get a certain age, you got to take out so much of your RSPs. They force you. You got no choice. So you got to take it out and then you got to start paying taxes on it.”
“As seniors, we worry more about our children and grandchildren.”
— Peggy
She said the problem exists with the Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) and that the increases to Old Age Security (OAS) are not sufficient.
“They say you got to wait until you’re 75 to get a benefit increase, which is no big increase, but why do people have to wait until they’re 75? Why not give it to them when they’re getting their OAS at 65? Why wait until you’re 75?" she says.
"A lot of people don’t live much past that, so they’re not doing anything extra for people. Everybody gets the same OAS until you’re 75 and then they give you a small increase.”
Getting help
For seniors seeking more information about benefits and other financial issues, SeniorsNL offers services to help.
“One thing that we do that I think is fairly important is we will review what benefits they’re getting,” Siegel said.
“We have found there’s actually a fairly high number of seniors who might be eligible for something, like the guaranteed income supplement, and not aware of it. So, of course, if we can hook them up with a new benefit that they haven’t had before that they’re eligible for, that can make all the difference in the world.”
Focused on their families
Despite changes to their own financial situation as the cost of living rises, Peggy said she and Tony are more focused on their family.
“As seniors, we worry more about our children and grandchildren,” she said.
“About the expenses and trying to get ahead in life, trying to pay mortgages or pay rent or eat. Everybody’s lives are affected. It’s not only seniors. So we worry more about everybody else than we do about ourselves.”
