Senior Citizens: Difficulty Even In Retirement

Jack Kelley • October 5, 2012

Successful retiree, Joan Fetterman.

The difficult economy of the United States isn’t only taking its toll on this generation’s working population, but the retirees of the past generation as well. In every state of the U.S. you will find senior citizens struggling against the flow of this relentless cascade of the economy. Programs are beginning to pop up across the country that offer cheap housing for senior citizens. And though sales don’t appear to be improving, the economy slowly is.

Across the country senior citizens push for Medicare, social security and other benefits the government can’t give them full advantage of. In retirement, many senior citizens are still left without enough money to pay for housing, insurance and other such everyday fees. Joan Fetterman from Saint Clair Shores is one of the successful retirees of the past generation and now lives in a simple two-floor house. She lives an easy life and goes along with everything that is thrown in her path. Asked about her views on social security, she said,”Social security needs to be changed to the point where I know its tied into the cost of living.” There are many people out there who agree with her point of view, as well as other views on unemployment, pensions and the likes, but as of today, the stormy clouds hanging over our heads don’t appear to be clearing out.

In the world of economics, money is king. Products, services and goods are all simply it’s servants. The government still shares money with some of those in poverty, retirement and unemployment but sometimes it seems like that just isn’t enough. There are still people living in poverty, there is still unemployment and there are still older retirees struggling to settle down in the poor economy.

Senior citizens, like many of the rest of us, still find it difficult to do some things in this economy. Some may attempt to sell their old houses in order to move into a smaller, more comfortable house that you would find to be far less difficult to care for, but are unable to do so since houses aren’t selling well in this economy. This result is the product of the unstable economy during this new and technologically advanced age.

In this year’s presidential election, senior citizens work to protect their rights to Medicare in the clashing economy. The possibility of a decrease in Medicare funds is a daunting statement to many and others are unsure what long term effects a cut in Medicare funds might have. Though as of right now it’s not something many want to risk. The race for an easy retirement is on, but some seniors may not quite make it.

When asked about her thoughts about the treatment of the elderly, she responded,“Over the years I have experienced some, and I know other people who have definitely faced problems with people who are bias against seniors and older people.” This is just part of the whole story, and there is really far more discrimination against the elderly than we realize in our everyday lives. We have to open our eyes a little bit more, and begin to comprehend and react to the actions people choose to make around us. We cannot clamp our eyes shut and close off our ears to what is going on around us, we need to change, and we need to change now.

Any average person could tell that we need to improve retirement policies in the United States, but we need to have deeper insight than that. We need to look more deeply into the roots of the problems, we need to clarify social security and medicare. Life in retirement is supposed to be simple and uncomplicated, but for many it is no more than an added stress in their lives. we have to turn this stress into relief, we need to turn it all around.