Seniors and Inflation

It’s no secret that gas, grocery and general living prices have skyrocketed over the course of the pandemic. One demographic is being hit even harder.

With inflation at a nearly 40-year high, Canadians are feeling the financial strain. Many Canadian seniors live on fixed pensions or depend on government benefits such as the Canada Pension Plan, which — with its once-a-year adjustment each January for inflation —hasn’t caught up with recent increases in the cost of living.

Between the difficulties brought on by two years of living through the pandemic, the cost of aging and the ever-rising cost of living, Canada’s seniors are caught in pressure-cycle, with one cost amplifying the next. New Brunswick seniors Earl and Lorna Pollock are among those affected.

“Well, we keep a book that keeps track of all of our purchases, so we know how much money we’ve got at the end of the month, and it helps control the spending a bit. So, you know, you’ve got so much, you gotta only spend so much, and that makes it balance out,” Mr. Pollock said.

Like many, the Pollocks are having to make some difficult decisions regarding their assets and spending. There just aren’t many fun shopping days or extra activities anymore.

“Seeing as the inflation is so high, we’re very careful with what we buy, we’re retired and on a fixed income, and we either shop the sales, or we get a no name brand or the store brand instead of the original brands,” Mrs. Pollock said.

Various government programs are not designed to keep up with rising costs. Federally, the Canadian Pension Plan is adjusted once every year according to the consumer price index. The indexing rate for 2022 is 2.7 percent based on the previous year, but the January year-over-year increase was calculated to be almost double that.

“Sometimes we’ll buy something, like a special ice cream or something that we don’t ordinarily buy, it’s a treat. Just to buy for a treat, that’s all,” Mrs. Pollock said.

“And we don’t go on a Sunday drive near as often as we used to because the cost of gas is so ridiculous,” Mr. Pollock said.

Seniors and citizens of all ages are left to wonder: will the cost of living ever return to even somewhat normal?