Middle-class seniors struggling despite home ownership

Several middle-class elderly Barbadians, living in what appear to be well-appointed homes, are actually struggling to maintain their houses while also managing their evolving health needs, utility bills and food, MP Sandra Husbands said on Tuesday. 

Detailing a profile of elderly residents in her constituency, Husbands told the House of Assembly debate on the Older Persons (Care and Protection) Bill that the picture is one of two distinct economic groups, both facing unique challenges.

She said: “We have a large middle-class population of seniors, and a smaller working-class group of seniors, but they’re living two different experiences. In our working class areas, many seniors are living in overcrowded homes, where they’re often inconvenienced, where sometimes their concerns are not taken into account, their preferences are not considered, and very often they are pressured by the financial demands that might be made on them by others that are in the home, even though they’re already living on a very small pension.

“Among the middle-class seniors, many of them are empty nesters, where the children have grown. They’ve gone and no one is around, and they are faced with taking care of themselves and managing the difficulties and the challenges of ageing. Many of them may own their homes outright, but part of the challenge they have is that because they’re on fixed pensions, which might have been adequate maybe ten or 15 years ago, with inflationary pressures, they can no longer manage their needs, manage repairs and so on that are needed to their homes. And so, this bill must be understood within that real world context.”

Noting that many of the middle-class elderly were retired public officers as well as supervisors in the private sector, Husbands said the situation confronting both middle-income and working-class elderly makes them more vulnerable to abuse and financial exploitation:

“They then have to become dependent on informal caregivers, some who may not be trained.

“It might be a relative, or it might be a neighbour, and so on. There may be pressure to hand over some decision-making to others where they may have to put their resources into the hands of others who may not always as scrupulous or as honest as they should be. This becomes a real dilemma and a major stress for seniors, because sometimes it might even be family members that are exploiting seniors.”

Husbands, the minister of technological and vocational education, reminded House lawmakers that the island’s changing demographics make it imperative for the island’s social security system to undergo regular reform.

“We need to continue our pension reform in order to assist these seniors to be able to continue to live independently,” she stated, noting that the reforms recently instituted were necessary.

“We’re trying very hard to make sure that . . . that all of the generations coming after us will also have access to some form of NIS pension,” the MP said, rejecting arguments that the administration simply wanted people to work longer while reducing their pension benefits.

“Anyone who truly cares about this country and truly cares about the entire group of Barbadians who live here . . . must understand that pension reform is absolutely important. It’s the right thing to do. It’s the moral thing to do.”

Husbands used the session to advocate for greater financial literacy and early preparation for retirement. Too many people were waiting until they were in their 60s to begin planning for retirement, she said. 

“When your pension is no longer adequate, your vulnerability increases. It makes you more dependent on others and therefore, you have to tolerate more abuse or unkindness or indifference or intolerance because you’re not financially independent, and the risk of exploitation grows.

“This puts pressure on families, and it also puts pressure on the state. So, protection legislation becomes even more important in this circumstance, not less.”

(IMC)