OPINION — How can more than 4,200 Sun City residents be living below the poverty level? That’s $15,960 per year for a single person and $21,640/yr for a couple.
The causes are familiar: unforeseen medical bills, retirement income that loses purchasing power to inflation (an annuity pension is halved in value in 25 years), and the sudden loss of a spouse’s pension or Social Security benefit.
One of the common scenarios we see at Sun City Community Assistance Network — Sun City CAN — is a couple who retired on two Social Security checks and a pension check. When a spouse passes away, the household often loses the pension and one Social Security payment, leaving the surviving spouse financially vulnerable without enough income to live on.
