Seniors Spend Nearly Half of Their Social Security Benefits on Healthcare

According to a recently released survey conducted by The Senior Citizens League, seniors spend a significant amount of their social-security benefits paying for healthcare. Among the 1,200 respondents to the survey, more than a quarter spent between $300 and $600 a month on healthcare costs. With the average social security payment at $1,100 this year, that’s up to 55 percent of their monthly benefit. Larry Hyland, TSCUs chairman, said the majority of seniors depend on social security for at least half of their income and, with healthcare costs rising several times faster than benefits, few seniors can afford to pay any more than they
already do for healthcare. Fifty-one percent of participants said they delayed going to the doctor and 44 percent said they postpone filling prescriptions or were taking less than prescribed.