However, prices for items such as shelter, electricity, hospital, and outpatient medical services \u2014 major expenses for millions of seniors \u2014 continue to outpace the overall rate of inflation.<\/p>\n
\u201cPrices are coming down, but the things that seniors are spending on are going up,\u201d Mary Johnson, a Social Security and Medicare policy analyst, told Yahoo Finance. \u201cThis is clearly causing distress.\u201d<\/p>\n
Read on Yahoo Finance<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n This summer\u2019s record-breaking heat means record-breaking electrical bills for many people, Johnson said, which can be a heavy burden for retirees and others on fixed incomes.<\/p>\n Electricity costs have risen 4.4% from a year ago. Meanwhile, more than 138 million Americans were under heat warnings this week, and reports of heat-related deaths are rising. In Santa Clara County, Calif., there were 14 deaths being investigated as heat-related \u2014\u00a0eight of the victims were over 65<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe amount of electricity is going to be a huge change in seniors\u2019 bills because they\u2019re just not used to using that much electricity just to stay cool and to stay alive,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n For seniors with health issues, medical care costs are on the rise as well. Inpatient care rose 4.5% from a year ago, while outpatient care surged 7%.<\/p>\n Home healthcare services have climbed 11.4% \u2014 roughly three times faster than overall inflation.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople just don’t have enough saved for assisted living, so that in-home care is something that people have to turn to when they’ve had a hospitalization, and they need care to get back up to speed,\u201d Johnson said. Home health nurses are often under contracts where they come in for a specified amount of time during the day, and many have a minimum of four hours.<\/p>\n \u201cThose can be some very pricey costs,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Older and disabled adults may be having more difficulty getting enough protein in their diets, with the price of meats and eggs continuing to outpace overall food inflation.<\/p>\n While food prices rose by just 2.2%, many of the most frequently consumed proteins that older adults rely on rose much more. Pork chops, for example, were up 7.4% from last year, and the price tag on a dozen eggs popped up 10.2%.<\/p>\n The index for rent and owners’ equivalent rent (OER) each rose 0.3% on a monthly basis, the smallest increases in these indexes since August 2021. Owners’ equivalent rent is the hypothetical rent a homeowner would pay for the same property. It\u2019s up 5.4% year over year.<\/p>\n While shelter inflation is down from its peak of 8.2% reached in March of last year, many seniors feel any increase acutely given that the cost of housing takes up about 50% of their budgets.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you have not only the housing, but you may have real estate taxes and utility bills, homeowner\u2019s and renter\u2019s insurance,\u201d Johnson added.<\/p>\n Bottom line: \u201cEven though overall inflation is coming down,\u201d she said, \u201cthe standard of living for many older households is not improving, it\u2019s declining.\u201d<\/p>\n Kerry Hannon<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Click here for the latest personal finance news to help you with investing, paying off debt, buying a home, retirement, and more<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo\u00a0<\/strong><\/a>Finance<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nHot summer, soaring electric bills combine with health concerns<\/h2>\n
Not all food costs are dropping<\/h2>\n
Housing takes up to 50% of budgets<\/span><\/h2>\n
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