MIAMI.- Florida attracts the attention of millions of retirees due to its warm climate and the absence of high taxes, but very few know that the Sunshine State is among the worst in the country in safety for seniors.
At least this is what a study of the organization The Senior List, based in Portland,Oregon, that looks after the quality of life of the elderly and gives the last place on the list of 51, which includes Washington
For example, the survey shows that Florida suffers a terrible fever of fraud that affects the elderly, like no other state in the American Union. Seniors who are victims of manipulation and lies to be dispossessed of goods or identity data.
According to this report, 993 people out of every 100,000 elderly in Florida are victims of some act of fraud.
In fact, Florida has a large adult population that seems to grow by the day. According to data from the National Census, the state has about 21.4 million inhabitants, of which four million are elderly, or 18.7% of the population exceeds 65 years.
Housing
The cost of housing is also worrisome. With prices that oscillate in Miami between 800 to 2,300 dollars, according to the zone of the city, the average to pay in the state is 1,077 dollars for a one-bedroom apartment, when the average of retirement hardly exceeds 1,400 dollars per month for more 60% of the retired population.
“I can not imagine how a person can live with that amount of money when he has to dispose of 77% of his income to pay rent,” said Sam Wilson, professor of economics at the University of Florida.
The answer has several aspects: some join others and rent an apartment together, as they did when they were young, and others go to care homes, the cheapest, which are paid for the amount they receive for retirement.
Florida also reports that 10.2% of the retired population lives below the established poverty level of $ 1,041 per month, about $ 12,500 per year.
Other figures
Another detail that stands out in this study conducted by The Senior List is the death rate for strong or violent injuries, which can be falls or even assaults, 21.2 people out of every 100,000 elderly, and that figure puts the state in the tail of the country, at number 39.
However, Florida is emerging as one of the most popular and most populated by senior citizens, second only to California in number.
Due to the migration of other states, which seek precisely a better climate and
The counties of Florida that denote a greater number of residents of the third age are Sumter, Charlotte and Highlands, with 43%, 34% and 32%, where are the localities of The Villages, Punta Gorda and Avon Park, respectively.
