The difficulty in balancing a low pension with income at historic levels is the center of the testimony of Maria Teresa, an 80-year-old widow, who describes how she manages to pay 1,200 euros in rent in Spain, despite receiving only 840 euros per month. According to the Spanish newspaper La Razón, the continuous rise in rental prices has left many pensioners dependent on alternative solutions to guarantee access to housing.
The publication explains that average rental values have been increasing, reaching 14.5 euros per square meter in October, almost 11% above that recorded in the same period of the previous year.
Pensioners without their own home are vulnerable
In this context, pensioners without their own home face particular vulnerability, often resorting to complementary forms of income. It is in this context that Maria Teresa describes the method that allows her to face the month: she welcomes two university students into her apartment to obtain the amount she needs to pay the rent.
The same source mentions that the pensioner admits that this daily coexistence can be difficult due to the difference in ages, but assumes that, without this help, she would not be able to secure the necessary amount. In an interview with the YouTube channel JIRE4, he said that he agreed to expose his case to raise awareness of the lack of legal framework that allows people his age to rent rooms safely. “I earn 840 euros in pension and pay 1,200 euros in rent”, he laments.
Monthly routine and impact on the budget
Maria Teresa details the calculation that determines her income: she adds the widow’s pension and the retirement pension, totaling 840 euros, an amount she considers insufficient to live stably. She explains in the same interview that the widow’s pension is not equivalent to her husband’s entire pension, which worsens the difficulty of balancing fixed expenses and day-to-day costs. Without other financial contributions, he admits that he would not be able to cover the essentials.
The newspaper writes that the limitations are not limited to paying rent. The pensioner states that she had to adapt her diet, eliminating some products due to lack of budget. Highlights the rise in food prices. “I stopped eating fish”, he says. Even so, he maintains a single regular activity: aquagym in a gym, for 15 euros per month, thanks to support that reduces the cost.
Memories of the past and warnings for the future
Quoted by the newspaper, Maria Teresa compares the present with previous decades, noting that economic difficulties particularly affected those who did not have stable family income. It also recalls the effect of its low social security contribution rate.
He started working at the age of 17 and, as he explains, common practice at the time led many workers to favor a slightly higher salary, even if this meant not being legally registered. For this reason, it only accumulated 11 years of recorded discounts.
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