Typically, when we think of retirement, we imagine kicking back and relaxing, but that’s not the case for many struggling retirees. If you’ve been to a grocery store, department store, or fast food restaurant lately you probably have noticed an increase in elderly workers. That’s because the current economic climate is forcing millions of senior citizens to come out of retirement. According to the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging, Americans are ‘unretiring’ en masse due to the rising cost of living.
Janette Campbell is one of them. The former teacher, who retired at the age of 62, dreamt of taking care of her grandchildren and traveling the world during her golden years. However, life didn’t work out that way for the senior Chicago resident.
Living on a fixed retirement income, Campbell soon realized that she couldn’t keep up with all of her bills — especially her monthly mortgage payment. Her only option was to get a part-time job to be able to make ends meet.
Now aged 74, Campbell is working for United HomeCare, a non-profit home health and community care organization. She must use a walker to get around the office, where she spends her days checking emails, making calls and putting together promotional material — activities far from what she envisioned for her retirement.
“I couldn’t afford to pay my mortgage and I didn’t want to be left out in the street homeless,” she told CBS Chicago, arguing that she doesn’t think she’ll ever be able to fully retire.
For countless retirees living on a fixed income, making hard choices between paying their bills or buying food or medicine is something they have to make all too often.
It’s all about the rising cost of living, said Isaura Betancourt, the regional coordinator for SER National. “A lot of people are struggling. They retired and are forced into coming back into the workforce.”
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