Senior Inflation is Increasing
Last Updated (Monday, 21 July 2008)
Written by Scott Slater
- Are you a senior in perfect health?
- Do you hate to travel?
- Do like to live on very little food?
- Are you a complete do-it-yourselfer?
If you answered yes to all of these questions, you should do just fine during retirement. If however, you are like most of us, senior inflation can turn these into major concerns during retirement. Health costs, food, travel expenses, and day to day maintenance items are some of the major costs facing seniors in retirement. Food in the supermarkets has increased by 5.7% since last year, hospital services by 8.5%, nursing home care by 4.5%, and even funeral costs are up by 4.8% over last year.
Seniors should be very cautious when planning their retirements based on the published CPI index because it currently does not reflect what seniors are experiencing in retirement. To make matters worse, millions of baby boomers are beginning to enter into retirement. This will add additional inflationary pressures on those goods and services that seniors need most.
Cost of living increases for pensions and social security are primarily based on the official CPI index and that index will not adequately keep seniors ahead of the costs that truly affect them. What is needed to keep seniors from experiencing problems later is to have an accurate and comprehensive plan that takes into account all the complexities that seniors will face. A good financial plan will give you a realistic view of what standard of living to expect during retirement, and how to minimize the devastating effect inflation has on seniors. “Senior inflation" should be of great concern, but professional planning and counseling can prevent a carefree retirement from turning into one of worry and stress.
Scott Slater is an Associate of Brock and Associates, LLC and specializes in meeting the unique needs of seniors through specialized retirement planning.
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