"At 61, Alexander Remus has pared his life down to the essentials. He lives on a modest pension, avoids restaurants, and allows himself just one visit to a movie theater a month to stay sane. Even his prescriptions for a chronic health condition aren't guaranteed some months, he skips doses to stretch his budget. The sacrifices are painful, but he said they're the only way to keep up with the cost of living as a retired highway maintenance worker."
"A new poll finds many of the Bay Area's older residents are feeling the pinch. A third of the retired respondents, like Remus, say they are just making ends meet, one in six is struggling to pay the bills, and 6% report being in serious financial trouble. The 2025 poll by Bay Area News Group and Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a regional economic think tank, surveyed 1,743 adults across the core five-county Bay Area in August."
At 61, Alexander Remus lives on a modest pension, avoids restaurants, limits movie trips to one a month, and sometimes skips prescriptions to stretch his budget. A 2025 poll of 1,743 Bay Area adults found one-third of retired respondents are just making ends meet, one in six struggle to pay bills, and 6% report serious financial trouble. Older adults are California's fastest-growing demographic; by 2030 about 25% of residents will be 60 or older. The Bay Area has higher-than-average living and housing costs, with home prices about twice the national average. Most respondents reported cutting back on expenses to stay afloat, revealing widespread strain among those on fixed incomes.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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