- Emma Echols, 68, lives a modest life in Alabama on Social Security and a part-time job driving a bus.
- She receives $1,056 a month from Social Security and doesn’t think she can retire, even though she’s been working since she was 12.
- Echols believes that those with lifelong service should be given more retirement benefits and respect.
Emma Echols, 68, lives on $1,056 in Social Security payments and a part-time job as a bus driver in Alabama. She said she may never retire, but she’s not too worried.
Echols has been working since he was 12 and has worked as a chef, a convenience store general manager and a bus driver. Though he has rarely been financially stable throughout his life, he has kept his expenses in check by living frugally and giving to others when he can.
Though she won’t be leaving work anytime soon, she remains active in the community to help those in worse situations than she is. Still, she feels people like her deserve more retirement benefits and respect.
“I’ve always worked for what I need and what I want without public assistance or government assistance, and people who never worked have very nice housing,” Echols said. “Our world is a mess. People who do nothing, people who don’t pay their bills on time are rewarded, and teachers who have dedicated 50 years of their lives to the system aren’t rewarded. I know teachers who know exactly how many loads of laundry they need to do in a month to cover their electric bill.”
Millions of Americans who are at or approaching the typical retirement age of 65 don’t have enough savings to quit working. Dozens of older Americans told Business Insider this year that they can’t retire at that age, given that some estimates suggest retirees need well over $1 million to live comfortably. That’s especially unaffordable, as more than half of Americans over 65 live on an annual income of less than $30,000, according to the Census Bureau’s most recent population survey.
Echols said he doesn’t know what he would do with more than $1 million, but getting more than $1,000 a month from the government would be a great help.
I’ll work hard all my life
Echols got her first job as a babysitter at age 12, then handed out sodas and popcorn at a drive-in movie theater at 14. Nearly 60 years later, she’s still working ever since.
“I always wanted to earn my own money,” Echols said, “I always wanted to work, and then when I was 14, someone made my Social Security record for me. I waited 45 years to get that paycheck.”
She had worked as a chef in a seafood restaurant for over 10 years and was in a “very good income bracket.” At age 27, she enrolled in community college but did not graduate.
She moved on to another company, worked for nine years at minimum wage ($3.35 an hour at the time), then got a new job as an assistant manager at a convenience store making more than $11 an hour, but was later laid off. She acknowledges that she and others of her generation should have known more about savings and investment strategies.
More than 20 years ago, she started working as a bus driver making about $9 an hour and over the years her wages have risen to about $26 an hour. She has health insurance and is saving into a pension.
“Before the rent increase, I didn’t make enough to pay the $500 to $600 a month in rent,” Echols said. “I make a decent living from my part-time job and have great benefits, but I understand the struggles seniors face. Federal housing doesn’t require you to make more than $1,500 a month to get a house or apartment.”
Live simply and selflessly
Her monthly expenses are $500 for rent, including water and trash, $95 for phone and internet, about $500 for a car payment, $89 a month for car and renter’s insurance, and about $300 for transportation. She rarely eats out and has cut back on her spending on meat to cut costs. She saves for new tires and car maintenance, which can cost $400.
“I live frugally and only buy what I need,” she says. “I always shop the sale racks and sometimes thrift stores.”
She spends very little on entertainment, going to the occasional $5 movie near her home. She tries to stay healthy to avoid additional medical expenses, and keeps her furniture and clothing purchases to a minimum.
She is preparing to move from a suburban duplex to a studio apartment in the city so she can walk to work and cut down on transportation costs and car insurance.
Her Social Security is $1,056 a month, 25 percent less than her full benefit would be because she took her payments early. She said her Social Security covers rent and other expenses, but she has to work to cover other costs and plan for the future. She has almost no debt.
“I know people my age who worked when wages were lower. I know people who are getting $1,400, $1,500 a month in Social Security, and it’s not enough to live on,” Echols said. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to retire, but I’m grateful and I’m in good health.”
Two of her sisters are in nursing homes and two others have health problems, so she gives gifts to their families when she can and tries to help them financially when she has money left over.
Echols also said some of her friends are facing similar situations, many of whom live on a fixed income and are struggling to pay all their bills.
She said her religion gives her the strength to continue giving what she has to help those in worse situations because she believes her efforts will pay off and she will never be homeless. If she had more money, she said, she would use it to start a program to help other women in difficult economic situations.
“I’m not a worrisome person because I truly believe that no matter what the world is like, no matter what’s going on in the world, God has the final say,” Echols said.
Worried about retirement? Contact this reporter nsheid lower@businessinsider.com.
