Buffalo man retired at 55. At 68, he was forced back to work to keep up with property taxes

Jakubczak, a resident of Buffalo, New York, cited rising property taxes — which are facing a proposed 3.9% increase in his area — as his personal financial pain point, but other recipients struggle on multiple fronts.

Soaring gas and food prices, along with increased healthcare costs, have put many older Americans in a similar position. While Social Security benefits for recipients will increase 3.6% in 2027, an average of about $75 per month, that’s a tick below the 3.7% increase in the consumer price index. It also doesn’t account for the higher number of doctor visits older Americans often face.

Add in the fact that one in five Americans over the age of 50 have no retirement saving, and the financial security crisis leans more toward the redline.

Funding shortfall

The Associated Press did not mention Jakubczak’s profession, but a Buffalo-area man with the same name, who was quoted in a local news report in 2024, is described as a retired building inspector who has remained active with the Western New York Alliance of Home Inspectors.

Assuming that’s the same Jakubczak, he’s likely to find plenty of work to help him make ends meet. The New York Department of State notes there’s a shortage of home inspectors in the state, and the Buffalo housing market has been hot for the past six years.

Still, no one wants to be forced back to work after retirement. But a report earlier this year from the Social Security and Medicare trustees has many retirees worried they might have to consider that at some point. The Social Security retirement trust fund, the group warned, will face a funding shortfall in 2032.

The system would still issue benefits, but they would be at a lower amount, estimated to be about 83% of scheduled benefits. Medicare faces a similar crisis. Both can be offset by Congressional action, but Republicans and Democrats have so far been unable to find a solution both can agree upon.

‘There’s a lot on the line financially’

The cost-of-living adjustments from the Social Security Administration didn’t become automatic annual increases until 1975. Prior to that, any increase required legislation to be approved by Congress.

The 3.6% increase that will take place next year is hardly the smallest on record, as benefits remained unchanged in 2009 and 2010. But it’s also far from the biggest increase. Social Security recipients saw a 14.3% increase in 1980 as a global recession took hold.

“There’s a lot on the line financially right now for older Americans,” Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan, CEO of the American Association of Retired Persons, told the Associated Press. “More people feel financially insecure this year than last. That makes Social Security’s cost-of-living adjustment critically important.”