A boomer couple who retired with pensions say they're just scraping by: 'I can't imagine getting by on Social Security alone'

• Nina and James, a boomer couple, face financial struggles despite retiring with pensions in 2012.
• Unexpected medical expenses, deaths in the family, and inflation have strained their retirement savings.
• Many Americans, including boomers, are rethinking retirement plans because of financial pressures.

Nina, 72, and her husband, James, 68, left their jobs in 2012, thinking they would be set for a comfortable retirement. But unexpected life events have made their retirement anything but relaxing.

The New England couple were state workers for decades, retiring with pensions. They didn't expect that each would have health emergencies, that they would lose two of their children, and that even a used car would become prohibitively expensive when they needed one.

Though Nina and James acknowledged having enough to live and spend on home renovations, they're worried about their financial futures, as their pensions barely cover their living expenses. Nina recently took part-time work at a hospital to give them more financial stability. Both asked to use pseudonyms because of the sensitivity surrounding their past jobs as state workers.

"We're certainly not poor, but at the same time, we really thought that between our retirement and Social Security, we would be in really good shape, and we have a good health plan," Nina said. "But even with that, the way inflation is, it's just out of control. We haven't had a vacation in eight years. We've got enough to get by if no more big emergencies come up."

Across the US, millions of Americans are worried they won't have enough to retire. Some boomers told Business Insider they would have to work into their 70s or 80s to afford their daily expenses, while some Gen Xers and millennials said they had retooled their retirement plans or had become more cautious about spending. Some said that though they could have made better financial decisions earlier in life, they thought working for over four decades should guarantee some comfort later in life.

"Sometimes, when I read things about baby boomers, they paint us all as wealthy," Nina said. "We're not wealthy. We've worked very hard, and I started working as a babysitter when I was 12. But I think we're fortunate and certainly better off than a lot of people."

Retiring, but not comfortably

Nina said neither of her parents was wealthy, and they expected her to get married and become a housewife. Instead, she got a social-work degree using loans that she paid off 20 years later and married young, though she later got divorced. It took another 20 years to pay off her son's student loans.

Nina married James 35 years ago. She was a social worker for the state and then became a probation officer. James, who has a degree in criminology, worked for many years as a police officer and was transferred to being a parole officer. He started in law enforcement at 21 and worked for 36 years.

Nina said they each worked in dangerous situations and put in long hours in the summer heat.

"I never had the luxury of working from home or telling my employer, 'I'm looking for a job where I can balance my work with my personal life,'" James said. "We had to prove ourselves, and if we ever said to our bosses that I'd like to work at home this week, they would laugh at us."

Both retired early in 2012, though Nina said she had to stop working early because of health issues. Both worked part time teaching classes to officers for handling domestic-violence cases. Nina returned to work a few years ago as a concierge at a local hospital to help cover their expenses and afford home repairs.

"We were able to retire early because we were law enforcement, so we had a better retirement plan that allowed us to have our health insurance paid," James said. "The work we did was pretty stressful. We had to carry a firearm, and we had to make arrests. We had a very high-risk caseload. Given our ages, we were nearing the burnout phase of the job."

After decades of work, both expected retirement to be fairly easygoing. Their children were grown up, they had income from their pensions and Social Security, and they lived frugal lifestyles. But the past few years proved particularly difficult financially.

Five years ago, Nina had a heart attack, which ate away at some retirement savings, even with their medical plan. James was hospitalized for a pancreas tumor, which still worries them. And during the pandemic, two of her three children died, which devastated the family.

"You might think you have a nice amount of money and things are going to go smoothly, but life happens," Nina said, adding that they're struggling to keep up with inflation. "We've worked so hard, and we're being thrown crumbs now."

They lost about two-thirds of what a similarly paid private sector couple without a pension would get in Social Security because of the Windfall Elimination Provision, which lowers a person's Social Security benefit for some people receiving a state pension. James gets about $650 a month in Social Security from private-sector employment in addition to his state officer jobs, while Nina gets just $32.

Making their retirement work

James said his state pension is about $40,000 a year, though he gets only a 3% raise each year because of a cap implemented over a decade ago.

Their part of New England is "not a cheap place to live," as they pay high utility bills during the summers and winters. James said he'd done a lot of landscaping and home renovations himself to save some money. They also have shopped more carefully over the past few years, cutting unnecessary costs.

Nina estimates they pay about $1,700 a month on clothing, toiletries, and food for themselves and their three cats. They stick to discount stores and cheaper grocery stores where they buy exactly what they need without wasting. They occasionally go out to eat, though Nina said they often get sticker shock. They've cut spending on some amenities such as paying for just a dozen cable channels, though they shell out for Netflix and Amazon Prime.

They recently purchased a 2014 car — the newest used vehicle they could afford, Nina said. She saw five-year-old cars selling for over $30,000, which she avoided given high interest rates.

They still pay a modest mortgage on the house they moved into in 2011, and they put a lot of money into remodeling their kitchen, which was built over 70 years ago. They refinanced their 1,400-square-foot home in 2020 at a 3.9% APR, and they have six years left on their mortgage. They don't intend on moving, as they have some equity and homes where both of them grew up are over $500,000 on average.

"We get a lot of compliments on how pretty the house looks from the outside," Nina said. "I'd be depressed if we didn't have something to be comfortable with."

The remodeling cost about $48,000, which they're still paying. James said he'd considered returning to work, though he still feels burned out from decades of working. Nina works a "physically demanding" job, which includes helping move people in their wheelchairs.

"We both take pride in what we have, so we're not the type of people who are going to let our house go," James said, noting that they want to give their house to their son in a few years. "We've put a lot of money into it, nothing extravagant, but we've had to maintain it and keep it looking nice."

They have also sacrificed vacations, as they haven't gone on one in over eight years. Still, Nina said investing whatever disposable income they have in their home is the best use of their money.

"I would love to go on vacations, but leaving my kid with something is more important," Nina said.