Retirement Should Not Mean Being Priced Out

For seniors across Brewster, Dennis, and Yarmouth, affordability is about more than the price of groceries or the number on a property tax bill. It is about whether someone who has spent decades building a life here can afford to remain here.

Too many older residents are being squeezed from every direction. Property taxes and insurance costs are increasing. Utilities, health care, home repairs, licenses, permits, and everyday town expenses continue to add up. For retirees living on fixed incomes, even relatively small increases can become the difference between remaining independent and being forced to leave the community they call home.

That is why I am honored to have earned the endorsement of Mass Retirees, an organization that has spent decades fighting for the retirement security, health care, and economic dignity of public retirees.

Their work reflects a basic principle: retirement benefits should maintain their value, health care must remain affordable, and people who devoted their careers to public service should not find their security eroded year after year. Mass Retirees has made improved cost-of-living adjustments and protection from rising health care costs central priorities. Those fights matter deeply on Cape Cod, where the cost of remaining in the community is especially high.

But supporting seniors also requires action closer to home.

We should also examine the smaller costs that accumulate for older residents. Towns should have the flexibility and state support to offer sensible senior reductions for appropriate licenses, permits, recreation programs, disposal services, and other municipal charges. No single fee may appear overwhelming, but together they can place real pressure on someone living on a fixed retirement income.

Existing property tax relief must also be easier to understand and use. Massachusetts offers a refundable Senior Circuit Breaker Tax Credit for eligible residents age 65 and older based on property taxes or rent paid. Qualifying seniors may also have access to local exemptions or property tax deferrals, yet many residents do not know these programs exist or struggle to determine whether they qualify.

Reestablishing strong constituent services in this district is part of that work. A state representative’s office should help seniors and their families navigate state agencies, understand available programs, and connect with local resources that can make later life more secure and sustainable.

State and local government should do more than create programs. We should make sure eligible residents can actually find and use them. That means clearer information, coordinated assistance through councils on aging, and simpler application processes.

Our seniors have worked, raised families, volunteered, paid taxes, and sustained these communities for decades. They should not be treated as an afterthought in debates about housing and affordability.

A strong community allows people to remain connected to their neighbors, families, doctors, and daily routines as they grow older. Aging in place should not be a privilege reserved for those with substantial financial resources.

It should be an attainable choice.