Many who have recently turned 65 probably have retirement budgeting on their minds, even though full Social Security in the U.S. for this group is now age 66. Yes I decided to wait. While I've found it helpful to review retirement advice online, lots of suggestions are geared towards people who are retiring on more than Social Security alone.
What about the rest of us? If Social Security income is going to be the only buffer, hard choices come into play - especially if it's just one income for life's exigencies. Chief among these is when we are tending to an aging body and an aging home at the same time. Often, expenses for one are going to edge the other out!
So I've gained new appreciation, for moments when financial care of body and home don't appear as though simultaneously necessary. One consideration re the body option: Medicare costs might initially outweigh benefits, for those in reasonably good health who have managed (thus far) to avoid regular doctor's visits. In particular, basic Medicare doesn't cover as much as one might assume. Perhaps that escalating 10 percent penalty per year on monthly payments, might not be so bad after all if I could tend to some housing needs first. Nevertheless, should a major heath issue arise, I may need to rethink that strategy.
Should our initial major choices run along these lines, recall how - fortunately - improvements in physical environment can also improve health. Two for one budgeting, so to speak. How often does a doctor's prescription actually stem from a house which was "ill" in some respect, making more health problems for its inhabitants as well? This possibility occurred to me when I was reviewing a migraine log with its list of potential migraine triggers, only to realize those triggers can be magnified by a house in need of repairs.
Of course, the above decision making process on my part is a short run approach, or a response to relevant circumstance in the here and now. Wherever we are, however we live, we work with resources we already have in any given moment. But how might our resource options appear, if we could conceptualize new possibilities for long term gain? In other words, what could expand our choice sets for a fixed retirement income in defined equilibrium settings?
Presently, zoning and regulations both get in the way of what most low income retirees can accomplish. Living simply and frugally is no easy matter, when building requirements are excessively rigid and complex.
Hence first, some groups would need to set aside places where the physical infrastructure of defined equilibrium can be legally set into motion. Then, once ground infrastructure is manufactured and locally assembled as a community grid, flexible building components attach to this semi permanent network. These components would in turn attach to electrical wiring, plumbing pipes and fixtures in self contained units. Once old connections need to be replaced, these disposable units would readily detach from others. Old electrical wiring and plumbing would no longer contribute to so many life hassles. What a relief for millions of future retirees, when they no longer have to tear into their homes just to access electrical lines and water pipes throughout the building!
Separate units for plumbing and electrical alone, could immensely contribute to the well being of aging retirees. Yet the benefits don't stop here, since such building options could help people of all ages and abilities. Not only would self contained plumbing units mean less termite damage; self contained electrical units could ultimately mean fewer house fires as well. The added flexibility of these self contained units could make it easier for communities to bounce back after natural disasters. Plus, ground level electrical work between these communities might make it less necessary for power companies to turn off community power during periods of extreme drought.
Alas, potential innovations such as this are not yet on the immediate horizon. But I can dream. After all, the real wage value of Social Security income will only become thinner in the years to come, if we don't get extensive innovation in our non tradable sectors. That said, should these possibilities come to fruition, even low income retirees would be better able to manage body, mind, and house. Again, at least one can hope!
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