Last month, inflation hit 4.2 percent, its highest level since early 2023, according to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Managing more expensive fuel, food and other necessities, like utilities and medical care, has been difficult for many, but older women — particularly those on a fixed income — have been hit especially hard.
More than 40 percent of women over 65 receive most of their income from Social Security, according to the Social Security Administration. Women, on average, also receive lower Social Security payments than men. This is because women are much more likely to step back from full-time work to take on caregiving responsibilities — and also because, on average, they make less money than men.
“The financial implications are huge. Not only are they not paying in to get the credits they need to qualify for Social Security, but also they’re not putting money into their retirement plans for their retirement,” said Carly Roszkowski, vice president of financial resilience programming at the AARP.
Black women are even more likely to rely on Social Security as they age due to lower incomes during their working years and lower retirement savings. There is a cost-of-living adjustment to Social Security benefits every year. However, big changes between adjustments mean older adults need to make do with less.
Take Diana Clark, who is in her seventies and lives in Dallas with her husband in a house where they are still paying off the mortgage. They receive Social Security payments, and Clark supplements their income by working as a part-time substitute teacher.
“Social Security sometimes is not enough when utilities are constantly saying they’re going up a certain percentage, so that’s why I do work a part-time job, you know,” Clark said. “So I can take care of everything. Nobody wants to be in the anxiety of knowing you can’t do certain things.”
For her, these things include being able to have hot showers and air conditioning; energy costs have become a particular concern.
“In the summer, it’s the air conditioning. Right now, I’m thinking about that as, ‘Okay, in June it’s gonna be warm. We gotta turn that air conditioner on,’” she said. She has not had a break in the winter, though. “The last few years, I’ve been really concerned about the gas bill because it’s been cold in Texas, and I remember this year I was paying $300 to keep the house warm.”
Rising gas prices from President Donald Trump’s military action in Iran have raised the cost of most goods. Fresh food, for example, needs to be transported across long distances in a short period of time to get from farms to supermarkets. Meat is 7.6 percent more expensive than it was last May, while fruits and vegetables are 6.1 percent more expensive.
“I’m a vegetarian, so I try to eat vegetables, but even fruits and vegetables are expensive now,” Clark said. She has managed to offset some of the higher costs by limiting her purchases to only what she considers necessary. She has also leaned on those in her community who, like her, have resorted to sharing goods rather than relying entirely on buying them at traditional grocery stores.
“I know people who have gardens, and so that helps a lot too,” Clark said.
She described sticker shock during a recent trip to the grocery store, when she decided to get oatmeal to make cookies. She said she does not entirely understand how food prices could get so high so quickly.
“I haven’t figured out the pricing for groceries,” Clark said, adding: “I just follow along like everybody else does. If I need it, I get it. But if I don’t need it, I do without.”
Vontril McLemore, 72, lives with her husband and 22-year-old grandson in Carrollton, Texas. Her grandson is on the autism spectrum and works part-time at Five Below. McLemore is a retired postal worker, and her husband is a veteran. They receive Social Security, but his veterans’ benefits make up the biggest slice of their income. While she and her family are doing fine right now, she said she is worried about the future.
“I’m concerned that by the time Trump leaves, if he leaves, Trumpism is already ingrained into our economy, into our racial disparities; it’s not going to go away because he’s not there,” McLemore said. “So, I think things are going to get a lot worse. I do.”
