7 Early Warning Signs a Georgia Retiree Is Running Low on Money

Nearly half of Americans 60 and older earn less than what it costs to cover the basics where they live, per the National Council on Aging.

These are the early signs a Georgia retiree’s money is running thinner than it looks.

Note: This is general information, not financial or tax advice. Tax rules and dollar amounts are subject to change.

1. Skipping Doses to Stretch a Refill

A Georgia retiree running low on money almost never says so at the kitchen table.

One of the first signs might show up at the pharmacy counter instead.

Nearly a quarter of adults 65 and older say it’s difficult to afford their prescriptions.

About one in five didn’t take a medication as prescribed in the past year because of the cost.

That could mean skipping a dose, cutting a pill in half, or not filling the prescription at all, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), a nonprofit health policy research organization.

Rationing blood pressure or diabetes medication might save a few dollars today.

But it often costs far more at a hospital in Macon or Albany later.

Financial counselors treat a sudden change in refill timing as one of the clearest signals that a retiree’s budget might already be in trouble.

2. Avoiding the Mail Pile

A second sign lives in a stack of unopened envelopes on the counter, not in anything a retiree ever says.

Debt collection has topped the list of complaints the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) hears from older adults for years running, and much of it starts with a bill nobody opened in time.

The pattern is familiar to elder-law attorneys and credit counselors alike.

A retiree behind on one credit card payment starts avoiding the whole mail pile instead of just that envelope.

Weeks pass.

A final notice gets lost in a drawer with three others just like it.

By the time a family member finds the stack, the retiree owes months of missed payments and late fees stacked on top of the original bill.

3. Draining a 401(k) Years Early

Retirement savers pulled a hardship withdrawal at a record rate last year, and foreclosure, eviction, and medical bills topped the list of reasons why, according to Vanguard’s annual look at its own retirement plans.

The median amount pulled was about $1,900.

That’s a lot to replace on a fixed income.

Worse yet, pulling money out of an individual retirement account (IRA) or 401(k) reduces the amount of money leftover to grow with compound interest.

Now-retirees who took out one or more hardship withdrawals during their careers often realize too late that they pulled the exact dollars that were supposed to outlast them.

A single early withdrawal rarely sinks a retirement.

But a pattern of them can.

4. Carrying Credit Card Debt Into Retirement

The share of retirees carrying credit card debt jumped to 68% in 2024, up from 40% just two years earlier, per the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI).

Many retirees put groceries or a utility bill on a card when Social Security doesn’t stretch to the end of the month.

They mean to pay it off next month.

The shortfall repeats the next month, and the balance grows.

The interest adds up fast.

At double-digit interest, a temporary gap turns into a debt that outlives the Social Security check that was supposed to cover it.

5. Applying for a Reverse Mortgage

A reverse mortgage lets homeowners 62 and older convert part of their home equity into cash, and the National Council on Aging (NCOA) says these loans generally aren't used for vacations or other extras.

Most borrowers use the money to pay off an existing mortgage or other debt, or to supplement monthly income so they can keep affording to live in the home at all.

NCOA is blunt about where a reverse mortgage fits in a retiree's finances.

It works best as part of a plan made years in advance, not as a crisis management tool reached for once the Social Security check stops covering the month.

Federal law requires counseling approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) before closing on one, precisely because so many borrowers arrive at that conversation already stretched thin.

6. Deferring Your Property Tax Bill

Homeowners 62 and older with limited income can postpone their property tax bill through a Georgia tax deferral program instead of paying it every year.

The county doesn't forgive it.

It attaches them to the house as a lien, with interest, due in full once the home sells or the owner passes away.

A retiree in DeKalb County or Fulton County who files for deferral isn't finding a clever tax break.

They're admitting the yearly bill no longer fits what Social Security and a small pension bring in.

Miss the deferral filing and fall behind anyway, and Georgia's rule turns blunt: After a matter of months of missed notices, a county can sell the tax lien at auction, and the homeowner then gets a 12-month window to redeem it.

7. Applying for Energy Assistance

Georgians 65 and older and homebound households can apply for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) before anyone else in the state, starting December 1 each year.

That head start exists for a reason.

Many retirees need it.

A retiree applying for the program for the first time, after decades of paying the power bill without help, is often telling a caseworker something they haven't told their own children.

They don't have enough money to live on.