Florida's seniors are becoming homeless at an increasingly rapid rate — what experts say is behind this alarming trend
In recent years, seniors of the state have been especially hard-pressed to contend with a widespread housing affordability crisis.
'I didn't work all my life to become homeless. That wasn't my goal,' said a Florida senior who wished to remain anonymous, detailing his struggle with rising housing costs during an interview with WESH 2.
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An alarming percentage of Florida seniors facing homelessness
It's undeniable that Florida is a popular place to move to. The allure of warm weather and no state income taxes has made it a top retirement destination.
However, in recent years, Florida has experienced a significant acceleration in population growth. The state saw an impressive 18% increase in residents between 2010 and 2022.
Orange County, home to the epicenter of Orlando, saw the largest population gains in that time frame, with more than 304,000 new residents calling the area home.
As more people move to the state, the housing supply hasn't been able to keep up, ultimately pushing housing costs higher. And for many Florida seniors, this mismatch of supply and demand is putting pressure on their budgets to the point that many are either homeless or facing homelessness.
One Florida senior shared his story anonymously with WESH 2.
When he moved to the state seven years ago, he bought an affordable home in a mobile home park in Lake County. But after living there just four years, the owner of the mobile home park died, and the property was sold to Legacy Communities, an Arizona-based property investment company.
After the property changed hands, the new owner raised his lot rent from $263 to $600. He must continue to pay his lot rent in order to keep his home on the property. Relocating the mobile home isn't feasible, as moving costs have been quoted at $75,000, making it impossible to find a more affordable alternative.
'It's quite stressful, to be honest with you, you know,' he said. 'They just took my security and threw it out the window, it's gone.'
If the rent increases continue, he's not sure how he'll manage. Although he has a part-time job, he's concerned that ongoing rent increases on his lot will ultimately consume his entire Social Security check.
'So what do I live on?' he asked.
He isn't alone in his fears. Older adults and seniors make up the fastest-growing homeless population in Central Florida. Although the problem of senior homelessness isn't confined to Florida, it's a growing issue in the state.
For example, in Miami-Dade County, people aged 65 and older made up nearly 8% of the homeless population in 2019. By 2024, that number had reached 14%.
Read more: Want an extra $1,300,000 when you retire? Dave Ramsey says — and that 'anyone' can do it
Affordability crisis for Sunshine State seniors
The average retired worker receives around $2,000 per month in Social Security benefits.
Although many try to live exclusively off of this benefit, it's simply not feasible to make ends meet on this monthly income in many parts of the country, including Florida.
In the Sunshine State, seniors relying solely on Social Security benefits struggle significantly with the average rental cost of $1,900, leaving minimal resources for other essential expenses. Even seniors with additional savings face challenges in stretching their limited funds to maintain financial stability.
The median retirement savings for seniors ages 65 to 74 is $200,000. While this may seem like a lot to fall back on, many seniors face expensive medical bills and other life costs that can quickly put pressure on that stockpile.
For some, like the anonymous man who shared his story, working part-time offers a lifeline. But for many seniors, working, even part-time, is simply not possible due to physical limitations.
Are you a senior at risk of homelessness? The Senior Resource Alliance offers valuable assistance in connecting you with local services designed to help you maintain stable housing. Don't hesitate to contact them for support during this challenging time.
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Politico
a few seconds ago
- Politico
The DOGE project that's still going strong
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Forbes
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- Forbes
Reducing Merger Uncertainty Could Help The American Economy
The second Trump Administration is signaling a move away from the Biden policy of actively discouraging mergers. This change in direction could benefit the American economy. But some merger uncertainty remains, rooted in the new Administration's decision to retain 2023 Biden merger guidelines. Targeted revisions to those guidelines – or, at the very least, public pronouncements designed to clear up confusion about current antitrust assessment of proposed mergers – might prove helpful in spurring beneficial mergers that could strengthen the U.S. economy. Bipartisan Mergers and Acquisitions Guidelines A bipartisan consensus on federal antitrust review of mergers existed from the 1980s until the Biden Administration. Merger guidelines issued by the federal antitrust enforcers, the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, cemented this consensus. 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The 2010 guidelines echoed prior versions in stating that the DOJ and the FTC 'seek to identify and challenge competitively harmful mergers while avoiding unnecessary interference with mergers that are either competitively beneficial or neutral.' This statement reflected an understanding that M&A activity substantially benefits the economy, and should not be interfered with except in cases of likely competitive harm – a point underscored in enforcement agency speeches over the years. 2023 Merger Guidelines The Biden Administration rejected 4 decades of bipartisan understanding in adopting an inherently skeptical approach toward mergers. From the start, '[t]he Biden-era agencies . . . undertook long merger reviews, burdened merging parties with expensive yet questionable 'second requests' [for additional information on proposed mergers], and bragged about deal proposals that never left the boardroom'. Speeches by DOJ and FTC leaders embodied an anti-merger philosophy that 'created a chilling effect' for merger transactions. This merger skepticism permeates the 2023 merger guidelines, which mark a dramatic departure from the general approach of predecessor guidelines dating back to 1982. The new guidelines center describe 6 different theories of anticompetitive harm that could generate a merger challenge, unlike earlier guidelines, that provided a single integrated approach for analyzing mergers. University of Chicago Professor Dennis Carlton, one of the most distinguished antitrust economists, emphasized that the new guidelines reduce practical economic guidance for the private sector and appear to be hostile to mergers and efficiencies. 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Trump Administration and the 2023 Guidelines The Trump Administration states that it is dedicated to rejecting the Biden anti-merger perspective and providing more 'fairness and predictability' to merger review. Retention of the 2023 Guidelines in their entirety could complicate that task, however, due to the inherent risks they pose for business planners. Trump antitrust enforcers are resource-constrained and drafting new guidelines is a time-consuming task. Targeted tweaks to guidelines language, however, designed to reduce unwarranted business risk without making major substantive changes, might be feasible. Simple tweaks could, for example: If the FTC and the DOJ prefer not to make any guidelines revisions at this time, agency leaders could instead issue major speeches on how the guidelines will be applied. 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Bloomberg
a few seconds ago
- Bloomberg
India Slams Trump's Threat of Higher Tariffs Over Russian Oil
Good morning. Trump threatens even higher tariffs on India over Russian oil. Hong Kong's listing market is set to stay hot for longer. And American Eagle gains meme stock status with its biggest jump since 2000. Listen to the day's top stories. Donald Trump warned India that he would 'substantially' raise tariffs on the country due to its purchases of Russian oil, a move New Delhi slammed as 'unjustified and unreasonable' in an escalating fight between the two major economies. The president's warning comes ahead of an Aug. 8 deadline for Moscow to reach a truce with Kyiv, with the administration threatening so-called secondary sanctions on countries that purchase Russian energy.
