AARP Connecticut to Focus on Cost-of-Living

It’s something that weighs heavily on older Connecticut residents: escalating costs in their home state.

In fact, when they were asked in a recent AARP poll about a range of concerns, money worries showed up repeatedly: The high cost of living in Connecticut (66 percent). Being able to afford to remain in your home as you age (55 percent). Finding affordable housing if downsizing becomes necessary (45 percent).

“Connecticut is an expensive place to live in general,” says Nora Duncan, AARP Connecticut state director. Overall prices paid by Connecticut consumers rank No. 10 among states and the District of Columbia, according to 2022 U.S. Commerce Department data.

That reality is why AARP Connecticut will focus this legislative cycle on cost-of-living issues and ways to help older residents cope with them. The effort will touch on things like health care, caregiving expenses and — in the latest jolt to the system — energy costs.

“If you’re sitting there on a fixed income and costs keep going up and up and up, you’re not in a position necessarily to meet those costs,” Duncan adds.

Yet that’s what people are expected to do — and why many have considered leaving the state. The AARP survey of older Connecticut residents found that nearly 4 in 10 had considered leaving the state in the prior year. When asked why, cost-related issues ranked No. 1, 2 and 3. The survey of 702 Connecticut residents 45 and older took place in mid-2023.

The most recent pocketbook surprise is the cost of energy.

Expensive electricity isn’t new to Connecticut residents. In 2023, they paid an average of $203 monthly for electricity — well above the $137 national average, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

But an outcry emerged last summer when residents noticed big increases in their monthly bills — particularly in the “public benefits” charge, which goes toward clean energy and other government-mandated programs, in addition to special funding for the Millstone nuclear power plant in Waterford.

Because the public benefits charge is based on a household’s energy usage, it increased during the summer heat waves, when air conditioners kicked into overdrive. Many residents used 60 percent to 100 percent more electricity in July than in June, according to the state’s Office of Consumer Counsel. Rate increases also took effect in July and September, the office says.

“When it was coupled with one of the hottest summers on record and high usage ... people had a bit of sticker shock,” says John Erlingheuser, AARP Connecticut’s senior director of advocacy.

Giving caregivers credit

AARP Connecticut also will champion a state tax credit to compensate for some expenses caregivers incur. The state has an estimated 420,000 unpaid family caregivers who spent a combined 390 million hours — valued at $7.2 billion — caring for loved ones, according to 2021 AARP data.

In addition to time, there’s the money involved with caregiving.

Fairfield resident Lee Fallet, an AARP volunteer advocate, knows that well. Fallet cared for her late husband, Jack, who had Lewy body dementia. At the same time, she and her sister were looking after their parents, both of whom had dementia. Fallet says she had to quit her part-time job in 2018 to care for Jack full time while also paying for flights and rental cars to visit her parents in Michigan.

Fallet, 65, says more families need financial support, including to hire caregivers if necessary. “We’re not talking about luxury items here,” she says. “You’re asking someone to come into a home and administer a bath. Certainly, as a family member, I could do that. But then again, you want to give the person some dignity.”

AARP Connecticut is still working on how any tax credit proposal would be structured.

Interested in volunteering with AARP Connecticut? Email ct@aarp.org, and be sure to include your phone number. ■

Katherine Shaver has worked as a journalist for more than 30 years, including 26 years at The Washington Post.

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