More Seniors Relying on Discounts Than on Government Benefits

• Author: Jorge Garcia
• Posted: 2024-08-01

The average senior citizen in America struggles with the same decision every single day: "Do I go back to work, or do I reply on government's Social Security benefits?" If ever you have been to a store and witnessed the frightening number of older people still working as greeters, in check-out lines, stocking shelves, etc, then you know already that most of them find that they have no choice but to return to the workforce. Social Security Income (SSI) is barely paying seniors over $1,200 per month. The average family of four on welfare in America gets over $900 per month in SNAP benefits alone. That is an objectively good, moral thing, of course. America should offer such a safety net. What's worrisome here is that seniors do not get this same sort of attention from the government. Most on SSI will be denied SNAP and will have to live entirely of the equivalent of $300 per week. This is why more seniors rely on discounts than they do on the government.

Mainstream media has been on the side of one particular political party for a very long time in America, and they have shilled for that party nonstop. However, this same media will occasionally tacitly admit that the political party is not doing enough to help Americans, and Americans need to take matters into their own hands. This is why you can find all sorts of articles recently from Forbes, MSN, Yahoo!, CNN, and other outlets urging seniors to take advantage of senior-based discounts to help offset the fact that the federal government doesn't seem to have their best interests at heart. These senior discounts are available in a wide range of stores, and they typically offer 10%, 15%, or even more off of purchases if the customer is a certain age.

At pharmacies, grocery stores, and even fast-food restaurants like McDonald's, seniors can actually save a lot of money while shopping. For grocery stores, it is generally speaking the case that you will have to be some type of rewards member. You're likely not going to be able to walk in off the street and save 15% or more on your purchase just because you're older. However, it's more than worth it to sign up as a store member. After all, you'll have to shop a lot, so this won't be a one-off thing. Once your age is established, you will get an automatic discount on your goods. This can add up to literally thousands of dollars saved over the course of your senior life.

For other stores and restaurants, you may need an AARP card. This stands for the "American Association of Retired Persons," and once you officially retire from the workforce as a senior citizen, you can join this organization and get a membership card. There are a lot of stores out there that will offer you a nice discount if you are an AARP member. In fact, you can find online resources that will help you track down stores that offer these sorts of discounts. This way, you can make sure that you're only shopping with these sorts of senior-friendly stores.
 

SSI Increases Are Based on a Fiction

There are a lot of resources out there that tell seniors that they shouldn't go through with these sorts of things. They suggest that seniors finding discounts is pointless, because the government is going to give them cost of living (COL) increases for their SSI payments. However, these people are typically shills for low-brow media companies, and they have no idea what they're talking about. COL increases for SSI are based on the government's official inflation rates. Though as everyone who lives in the country knows, inflation in America is exceedingly higher than the 7% the government claims. Eggs are nearly $10 per dozen; bread is over $3 per loaf. Milk, coffee, meats, and all other necessities at the store are all up well over 100% since 2020. The fact that the government constantly lies about inflation numbers is something that would be criminal if this was another administration with a different political affiliation.

When the government says that inflation is only 7%, then the automatic COL increases for SSI are only going to be 7%. This means seniors end up with just a little over $100 extra to deal with prices that are more than double.

This is entirely unsustainable. Seniors cannot rely on their government benefits alone. Hunting for discounts is just the smart thing to do.