The saying, “Getting old isn’t for sissies” could have been the title for Isobel Mackenzie’s report.
Mackenzie, the B.C. Seniors Advocate, had her office canvas thousands of seniors in B.C. over the past year.
What she found in general may not be a surprise to many, but the stark numbers should trigger action.
For example:
- The median annual income for seniors is $24,000
- 35 per cent of seniors who rent live on a household income of $20,000 or less
- Average rents for a one-bedroom apartment vary from a high of $1,038 in Vancouver to a low of $547 in Quesnel
- While the average house price varies greatly in the province, the average annual costs of home ownership, excluding any mortgage payments, is about the same regardless of where a senior lives, averaging around $1,000 per month
- 36 per cent of seniors with household incomes less than $30,000 believe they will need to move in the future due to affordability
The picture is not pretty. In the Lower Mainland there is not a huge stock of affordable housing being built or even planned for. The real estate market is intended to profit developers, not build sustainable communities – despite claims otherwise.
While Mackenzie has made 18 important recommendations to help address the housing issues, we certainly haven’t seen an appetite from any levels of government to tackle the problems.
The report calls on the province to increase subsidies for low-income seniors through the Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters program. It also wants a program that would allow seniors who own their homes to defer paying hydro, home insurance and major repairs until it is sold. This would not only help seniors stay in their own homes, but also reduce the number of seniors who end up in care homes – which would reduce another burden on taxpayers. Those are two recommendations which could be brought in immediately.
Many seniors have to forgo basics like dental care and decent food just to make sure they can pay their rent or keep their electricity going. This is simply not acceptable. And what is needed is a solution for today.
Building more affordable housing for seniors, and, frankly, for everybody, is the ultimate solution – but that’s not likely to happen anytime soon.
We are already well into the “grey wave” of an increasing elderly population.
