Rising Costs Put Seniors On Fixed Incomes At Risk

The Challenge: Rising property taxes, the taxation of Social Security, and gaps in senior services are putting strain on older New Hampshirites, including food insecurity, missed medications, and being pushed out of long-held homes. What do New Hampshire residents think? Contributors described the cumulative pressure on older residents, particularly homeowners on fixed incomes. One contributor wrote: “With property taxes increasing by thousands of dollars a year in some cases, it’s not possible for our senior citizens on fixed income to continue to reduce other necessities to pay the increased tax. You’re driving our seniors out of their homes and in many cases out of the state away from family.” Another raised the broader picture: “Senior housing and care crisis is not on the NH radar. 25% of NH seniors live alone ( https://healthyagingdatareports.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/NH_Healthy_Aging_Highlights_2025.pdf ) live alone and have no one caring for them. 10K are food insecure ( https://www.cc-nh.org/our-causes/food-insecurity/ ) and at risk of hunger. Many skip meals, prescriptions, or heat.” Some specifically pointed to retirement income: “The system of taxing people on Social Security is cruelty to seniors that have made New Hampshire great and have paid their dues over and over again.” Others called for income-based relief: “Help out people who are elderly on a fixed income by lowering the property taxes so someone on a fixed income is not pushed out of the area.” Across responses, contributors described a population whose costs continue to rise even as their incomes do not.