McHenry County retirees have mixed feelings on nearly 9% Social Security increase: ‘We do appreciate it, but it’s not enough’

Johnsburg resident Carol Toussaint said she is wary that a nearly 9% increase in her Social Security benefits will be used as a political tool for the upcoming Nov. 8 election.

As one of the 70 million people – which includes retirees, disabled people and children – set to receive the increase in 2023, she has little faith in the government and worries that large dips in her retirement accounts this past year will stretch what she called an already thin increase.

“It’s not enough to pay your bills,” Toussaint said. “Nobody could live on Social Security.”

Social Security benefits are set to go up by 8.7% because of inflation in 2023, according to the Social Security Administration, and recipients across McHenry County are sharing bittersweet feelings toward it.

Many said they are grateful for the increase because, as Crystal Lake resident Leonor Matheny put it, “something is better than nothing.” For many, they would be in deep trouble without it. For Matheny, her rent is going up, and she’s now paying a water bill for the first time in her life.

“It’s not easy, especially where I live with everything going up,” Matheny said. “Feels like one hand is giving and the other hand is taking.”

Some said they are grateful, but they see it as a pittance for what is truly needed to sustain retirement in this day and age.

Cary resident Paulette Linder said her son gives her a credit card to purchase gas, and she has moved in with her daughter. She said she’s been “very blessed.” Friends of hers have had to go to food pantries because they can’t afford groceries.

“We do appreciate it, but it’s not enough,” she said. “If it wasn’t for my family, I would never get by.”

Wonder Lake resident Audrey Burrows said with other increases to insurance and property taxes, she doesn’t expect the increase to give her much more than she already has.

“This gift that they are promoting is not a gift,” she said. “It just all goes back.”

Senior Services Associates Executive Director Micki Miller said she is hearing older residents are grateful for the increase but worried about future ramifications from it. Her nonprofit, with offices in Kane and McHenry counties, seeks to providing older adults with services to improve their quality of life.

For one, the increase could add just enough income that older residents would be pushed out of tax freezes that many benefit from, Miller said. Those tax freezes, though, are based off the previous year’s taxes. That means it wouldn’t affect people until 2024.

In the meantime, Miller said she and her organization are beginning to work with the state legislature to implement needed changes. With how slowly the government can work, she said she expects it to take the whole year to make change.

“We’re going to have to get the state legislature to understand the tax freeze is very important to seniors,” she said. “We’ll have to get them to increase the [threshold]. Otherwise, the increase in benefits won’t help seniors.”

Crystal Lake resident Barbara Klasen said she receives a pension because she used to work in law enforcement. With health insurance going up every year, she doesn’t think the increase to Social Security means much.

She also doesn’t like how Social Security is labeled as an entitlement.

“We’ve worked a lot of years and paid into it, and they want to tell us it’s an entitlement,” she said. “It’s not. We’ve earned it.”

Elderwerks President and Founder Jennifer Prell said the average Social Security income is $1,200, which is something most retirees can’t live off. She said she and others are grateful for the increase, adding she “doesn’t want them to think we’re jerks,” but the cost of living is too high.

“It’s going to help,” the nonprofit leader said. “Nobody’s going to turn down an increase, ever. But it’s never going to be enough.”

Rising costs this year have led to increased usage of food pantries by older residents, Miller said. They’re also carpooling more often to save gas. Package sizes at the grocery store are also shrinking even as the price remains the same.

With some businesses closing and retirement funds not as lucrative, money has become tighter, Miller said. As a result of these changing circumstances, some older residents are choosing between groceries or medicine, or they are stretching their medicine by skipping days or taking partial doses.

“The amount you get through Social Security keeps you below the poverty level, so it’s not much,” Miller said. “But they are definitely counting on it. A lot more seniors are becoming more reliant on it [due to the economy].”

Despite the difficulties, Prell said while she knows all these things are happening in the background, “nobody has mentioned a thing” to her. With the benefits coming from the federal level, Prell said more needs to be done at the local levels of government to support older adults.

Things like nutritional projects, lower cost housing and providing a safety net are some of what can be done, she said.

“No one planned to live to 80 or 90 years old,” she said. “This next generation, we’re getting ready because see what’s going on, but this generation. They’re kind of, excuse me, but screwed.”