Escalating cost of living tarnishes the golden years for pensioners

When Doreen Noseworthy retired in 2002 after a career in teaching that spanned almost four decades, she believed she and her husband, Gerry, an accountant, were set for life. 

Both of them retired with pensions, hers a reduced one because she took time out to raise their two children.

But they lived within their means, and the so-called "golden years" lay in a long stretch before them. 

What they did not foresee was the sharp escalation in the cost of living in recent years that would see the buying power of their fixed income shrink precipitously.

"Our pension dollar is still worth what the dollar was worth 20 years ago. And people don't realize that. They think that because you're retired from teaching you're a fat cat and you've got a great pension," said Doreen Noseworthy.

But the outside perception doesn't match the economic reality for many seniors who retired from long careers with public pensions.

The point was highlighted in a recent report from the provincial seniors' advocate, Susan Walsh, who found that nearly one-third of seniors cannot afford basic necessities, due in part to provincial systems.

Walsh said the current state many seniors face is a situation that has never been seen before.

"They're proud people, they worked their entire lives, they raised their families, they did all the right things," said Walsh.

But careful planning has not insulated many seniors from spiking costs for food, medicines, gasoline, home heating fuel and essential services.

"It's almost tripled now, the cost of the heating fuel," said Noseworthy. "That adds up in a hurry."

The Noseworthys live in Holyrood, and most of the things they need are in St. John's, a 100-kilometre round trip.  

"The cost of gas is another expense that we find has escalated beyond all reason," she said.

Buying groceries means comparing prices and trying to make every dollar go further.

"If you're living right and … trying to do the right things, I mean, you don't have a lot left over for frivolous things," Noseworthy said. "You have to keep watching the pennies."

The average cost of groceries is up 20 per cent from three years ago, TD Bank economist Leslie Preston told CBC News recently, the largest increase in 40 years.

On Tuesday, Statistics Canada reported that the consumer price index rose by 3.1 per cent in October, down from a 3.8 per cent increase in the previous month.

The recent decision to put the family home up for sale was a difficult one, said Noseworthy, but the cost of maintenance has also skyrocketed.

"Everything has gone up so crazy," she said.

"We're looking at having to replace the roof now in a couple of years, you know, which would be roughly $15,000,' said Noseworthy. "That's a lot of money.… It's just two of us, you know, and we keep putting more and more money into it all the time."

Noseworthy would like to see more regulations governing how much oil companies and food companies can earn in profits while still increasing prices. 

"The big multinationals, they dictate and politicians are just puppets on a string," she said. "Who puts them in power? Who gives them the money to run their campaigns?"

Over the years Noseworthy has advocated with the Retired Teachers' Association of Newfoundland and Labrador and the provincial Public Sector Pensioners Association for more seniors' housing and the proper supports to allow seniors to age with dignity in their own homes.

Noseworthy blames governments for the current social housing crisis, which has left many seniors holding onto homes they cannot afford — or worse, becoming homeless.

"Everybody in the world knew the Boomers generation had to get old. Were they ready for that? Not even close. Not even close," she said, adding that all she sees are condominiums going up everywhere.

"But that's private business," she said. "Not every senior can afford to live in one of those condominium apartments."

Noseworthy says she and her husband will move to an apartment when their house sells, but that was never part of their retirement plan.

"I said, 'No, we're staying here,'" she said. "'This is our home.… They'll carry us out of here.' When you're young, you think … life is going to be just perfect."

Despite meticulous planning and saving during their working lives, many retirees such as the Noseworthys are having to make tough choices in the current economic climate. Walsh, the provincial seniors' advocate, says people are left wondering what happened.

"'How did I get here?' keeps being the question that we hear," she said.

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