Grocery Bargains Supplement Meager Pensions
Fixed income pensioners in the U.K. are having a hard time making ends meet with the pounds they received from the government, according to The Guardian. Writing in the publication, Michele Hanson reports trying a pension austerity practice. It’s a sort of voluntary food distribution system. Ms. Hanson has joined a “growing flock of mendicant pensioners” who visit the supermarket just before closing, collect bargains, and redistribute them among the needy. One participant distributes mountains of intensely ripe fruit and vegetables.
Moderator Comment: Are soon-to-be senior citizens
going to be able to retire? What will be the impact of the economic situation
on retirees and the retailers that serve them?
This story is from the U.K. but it has a lot of relevance
to the U.S. market. A lot of baby boomers have watched the value of their 401K
plans and pensions dwindle as corporate scandals and a plummeting stock market
have taken their toll. There is also the recurring warning that the future of
Social Security is anything but guaranteed to take into account. [George
Anderson – Moderator]