SubmittedMost seniors don’t need to watch the news to know that times are increasingly hard; they can see the evidence in their own lives.  So perhaps it’s no surprise that older adults are leading the charge toward change. After her retirement at age 74, Vancouver resident Sharon Elliott had spinal surgery. In the days following, she quickly saw that help from the public purse was far from adequate to meet her needs. “I found that I was having to choose between health treatments and basics like food and housing.”  Since then, Sharon  has been actively working  to persuade governments to make more resources available to older adults. Specifically, she says, Guaranteed Income…

British Columbia In an RV outside a B.C. Walmart, a senior dreams of housing Nono Shen · The Canadian Press · Posted: Jan 27, 2024 4:06 PM PST | Last Updated: January 27 More seniors reporting having low incomes a ‘dramatic reversal’ from 3 decades ago, charity says. Keith Light, 77, says he spent New Year’s Eve trying to get the engine of his recreational vehicle — outside a Walmart in East Vancouver — running to stay warm, while trying to imagine better times ahead.“I just laid here and visualized B.C. Housing calling me and saying: ‘We have a place for you,'” said the former construction worker. He is among a large population of elderly people…

Carole Fawcett “I watched my 84-year-old Aunts quick descent into poverty following her retirement.  She worked all her life (usually two jobs) until she was 78 years old.  Recently she required a hearing aid and also had to have some dental work done.  She has to rely on her credit card in order to have these much-needed services, and then has the long process of paying that off. Even the most carefully thought out financial retirement plan can change very quickly because of unexpected life events.” “My 81-year-old Mom still works part time.  She has to, to supplement her very low pension.” “It is an insult when, as a retiree,…

Martin Biefer, Senior Pension Writer, Avery & Kerr Communications For Carole Fawcett of Vernon, BC, it’s time for seniors across Canada to let governments of all stripes know that the current retirement benefits available to older Canadians aren’t sufficient – and many seniors are facing poverty in their golden years. Fawcett, a freelance writer and editor and a retired counsellor, spoke recently to Save with SPP by telephone and email. She agrees that government programs like the Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security, and the Guaranteed Income Supplement were, when first created, “expected to `supplement’ the pensions that people would get from their job when they retired.” “People used to…

© Carole Fawcett This Boomer is angry. I am 75 years old and my pension is less than someone who works 40 hours a week for the minimum wage and this is combined for both OAS and CPP (with the supplement). How disrespectful and minimizing is that?  I’m tired of the tokenistic pat on the head with a pitiful pension.  A lot of us fall into this category and it wasn’t because we planned badly, sometimes life gets in the way. Before I go further I want to say that a lot of Boomers (seniors) are in the same (or worse) position.   But I’m kind of tired of it…

A B.C. woman took to the streets of downtown Vernon Thursday to raise awareness about poverty among seniors. The writer and former counsellor says low income older adults are struggling to get by on government assistance. Experts say seniors are among those most impacted by inflation. Aaron McArthur reports. – Dec 28, 2023 ...

Sharon Elliott was employed up until a few months ago. At 74 years old, Elliott was working part-time to pay for her expenses until a spinal injury pushed her to retire. The loss of income, paired with expensive health-care treatments, forced her to face a new reality. “By the time I paid for those services, there was no money left for food,” she said...

Castanet YouTube video and interview of Carole’s protest in Vernon, December 2023. Pictured: Heather Fullager joins march in December 2023 Watch video below!