On Thursday, I stopped in the parking lot in Atria Tanglewood, a senior life center on the southern shore of Long Island, about an hour outside Manhattan. In a room in the basement, surrounded by large-sided hats of Kentucky Derby Festival the day before, I spoke to four Social Security residents and their savings.
Two lifelong democrats, an independent and formerly “very involved” republican, none of them supports President Donald Trump. Although they have relatively few spending, all are alarmed.
Social security checks as a source of stress
In recent months, Trump and the Board of the White House Doge have promulgated major changes to the Social Security Administration, such as the personnel cuts that have had an impact on customer service. Some of the more than 73 million people say that social security benefits are concerned about their monthly checks, even if Trump has promised not to affect the financing of the SSA.
When asked for comments, a White House representative directed Business Insider to a recent press release concerning the SSA, which highlights “improving customer service, waste reduction, fraud and abuses, and optimization of its workforce”.
The four residents I spoke with are retired and obtain social security, and they each said that they had followed the changes to the SSA. They still receive their advantages, but some are nervous about money.
Judy Martin, 89, began to receive services in 1992 and said that changes “frightened”.
“Our checks are deposited directly in a current account, and every month, I am very prudent, try to make sure they enter,” she told me. “I'm just on the safe side.”
The same goes for Bob Katz, a former 85 -year -old clinical pharmacist: “I am worried. Each month, I know what it is supposed to be, so I check. So far, so good.”
Those to whom I spoke said that they mainly put their money on rent social security, but that checks did not understand the majority of their monthly income. Martin said that if her husband's checks and her husbands were never delayed, they might no longer afford their room in Atria Tanglewood.
None of those with whom I spoke said they thought Trump would in fact reduce social security funding – they, like many politicians, think it would be a political nightmare.
“ My 401K is a 201k '
Even more than their social security checks, those to whom I spoke look at their savings accounts. When I asked if someone had watched their 401K in the middle of the recent market of the market, all nodded.
“I will simplify it abroad: my 401k is a 201k,” said Benjamin Meyer, a former 78 -year -old alcohol retailer. “Not really. I haven't lost much, but I don't like what's going on.” He said, however, that he thought that money will come back, just like after 2008.
Martin said that she and her husband had lost part of their savings and that she had an eye on the market.
“The last time he fell, he returned, but who now knows what will happen?” She said.
Judy Perlman, who told me that her age was “unlisted”, said that she and her husband were still conservative with their investments. Now his daughter manages her money, and Perlman does not think it's on the stock market, although her daughter is stressed. Katz and Meyer brought additional savings, but said additional money could not last forever.
Living in an assisted life center, the residents I spoke to did not have much expenses other than the rent. Perlman said that she buys gifts for her grandchildren; Katz mentioned the Copays and the prescriptions.
Perlman said that she had recently listened to a radio program on the former presidents and remembered the quantity of agitation she had experienced – and forgot.
“The McCarthy era, do you remember that? War?” She asked, being encountered with heads. “Those of us who are older have gone through many different situations and in a way, we always manage to get out of it. I'm more afraid.”
