Oct. 17--Statisticians may think the price of everything is staying low, but it doesn't look that way to the ladies at the Friendship Cafe at Good Shepherd Baptist Church in Richmond's Church Hill.

Like millions of Americans who had been counting on a Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, increase, they're wondering now how they're going to stretch tight dollars even further.

Next year will be the first without an automatic Social Security COLA since 1975, the agency announced Thursday.

"I've learned to live within it, but prices in the stores keep going up, every time you go shopping for food," said Charlotte Coleman, 77, one of the volunteers at the Friendship Cafe. "I just buy what I really need."

Medicine is the big worry. The Social Security COLA is pegged to the Consumer Price Index for wage earners. Medicines of all kinds have just a 1.65 percent weighting in the index, though medicine takes a bigger bite of many seniors' budgets.

"You have to have medicine, and it keeps going up," said Alberta Stith, 90. "You just have to do without other things."

She cuts back on clothing, on activities -- bingo at the Friendship Cafe is a treat -- and sometimes, on food.

Rent is another big worry. While the average monthly benefit for retired workers is $1,160, the market rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Richmond is $832, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

"You have to buy what you have to buy. . . . We don't have a choice," said Queen Wilson, 85. "My rent just went up. I'll try to manage."

At Senior Connections, The Capital Area Agency on Aging, the Social Security benefits freeze is worrying.

"We're hearing from a lot of people already, having trouble with utility bills and paying for food on the table," said Thelma Bland Watson, executive director.

More people are asking for help from the nonprofit group's emergency fund for rent, heating bills and medicine, she said. The 20 Friendship Cafes it has set up in area churches and senior centers are busier as well.

The agency steers people to help from federal and state programs, and it also counsels seniors on budgets.

"You're never stuck," said Robert A. Fishbein, vice president and corporate counsel for Prudential Financial Inc.

"It's never too early and it's never too late to do something about your situation."

Fishbein suggests starting with your bills, to get a sense of what you're spending. Next, think about other expenses, or possible expenses, that might come up.

Then, tally up your income. Think about where the economy is -- low interest rates on savings squeeze many retirees' budgets, and you'll need to think about how long rates could remain low.

"Too many people think 'I've got 'X' amount in the bank' instead of 'What does that really mean?'" he said, referring to the flow of cash an asset generates -- the way a CD does, or a health plan that covers you when you retire.

It's important to plan, review and be ready to change your plans, Fishbein said.

After all, there still may be more bad news to come: The Congressional Budget Office already has forecast that there won't be a COLA increase in 2011, either. ------

Contact David Ress at (804) 649-6051 or dress@timesdispatch.com.

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