Meeting the 1st continuation of its reports dedicated to the cost of living this week: today, we are going to meet retirees, who often live on less than 1,000 euros per month. They too are trying to adapt to rising prices.
Published on November 22, 2024 at 6:55 a.m.,
updated November 22, 2024 at 6:57 a.m.
In this seniors' club in Sainte-Anne, you don't have to wait for the weekend to enjoy life by singing and dancing. Members, this Tuesday, meet in joy and good humor.
Marie-Ange Bègue measures her luck, comparing her situation to that of her parents' generation, who, she says, were not able to live like that, experienced neither these leisure activities nor travel.
However, despite the broad smile she displays, Marie-Ange is one of those retirees for whom life is not easy every day, at least financially speaking. With her 900 euros per month, she must face the increasingly high cost of living.
Watch the report from Réunion La 1ère:
Cost of living and retirees
Previously, Marie-Ange received RSA, so even less. Despite everything, she still managed to put a little aside, says the retiree. Now, this is no longer the case, as prices are so high, she says.
“We have trouble, it's hard for usshe admits. It doesn't surprise me that there are plenty of bums everywhere. We need a little more in our old life“.
Marie-Ange Bègue is clearly not the only one who has to tighten her purse strings. In this senior club”Good Welcome“, the 78 members are offered bus trips every month, for a cost of 14 euros. But the president of the club notes a drop in reservations.
“They have to provide their food, if we go to the museum, they have to pay for their visit … They do not arrive“, observe Arielle Govindin.
So obviously, at the end of the month when money runs out and choices have to be made, leisure activities suffer, in favor of other more essential expenses such as food. “Nothing to eat, no bills to pay“, underlines the president of the seniors club.
For Yvon Mussard, another Benedictine retiree, outings are limited to a few steps in the neighborhood, to his physiotherapist's office. The 82-year-old man is recovering from a major hospitalization.
He also expresses difficulty managing his budget, with 900 euros of income per month. From which he must subtract 104 euros of mutual insurance, 380 euros of rent without receiving housing assistance, the telephone subscription, and depending on the month, those for water and electricity.
“It's more than difficult but you have to do it with it. Half way to less, but if less nor a little more, half won and a little more pleasure“, sighs the octogenarian. Please others in particular, for example by taking “a ti zafer to give“when he finds himself invited to a wedding or a baptism…”Life dear dear dear mem!“, exclaims Yvon.
Not surprisingly, these elderly people with meager incomes are increasingly seeking help from associations, such as that of Jérôme Sellaye, Tienbo Ensemb, who runs a solidarity shop in Saint-Benoît.
The president of the association notes the presence of more and more seniors among its beneficiaries, coming to pick up “basic necessities, such as pasta, rice, fresh produce, meat, etc.“.
According to the “panorama of poverty in Reunion” drawn up by INSEE (National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies) in 2023, pRoughly 23% of poor households are retired households. Also, theHouseholds where the tax advisor is aged 75 or over are considered poor more than those where the tax advisor is younger.
And even if they have assets, whether real estate or financial, their retirement pensions are among the lowest in France. In 2022, INSEE noted that Reunion residents received the lowest retirement pensions in the French regions, i.e. on average 1,160 euros gross per month. This is 28% less than in France, while at the same time, the cost of living is more expensive in Reunion.
