Reporteros 360: Cómo sobrevivir con una pensión

Web: http://www.telemadrid.es/reporteros360 Twitter:   / reporteros360   Facebook:   / reporteros360   Surviving on a pension can be almost impossible. Because pensions barely increase, and almost half of retirees help their families. For the past four years, pensions have been increasing by the legal minimum: 0.25% per year. In many cases, this amounts to two euros more each month. Reporteros 360 reviews the expenses of pensioners who can barely make ends meet. And who have to stretch their money looking for the cheapest prices in supermarkets. Retirement pensions range from 2,500 euros per month to a quarter of that. Therefore, many seniors help others in precarious situations in their free time. "They need me more than my grandchildren, that's why I come to see them," says Pepe, a retired volunteer who helps others. One in five of those receiving a minimum pension believe they can't make ends meet with dignity. Almost half of retirees help their families. And there are even bloggers who help pensioners stretch their money and become real homemakers. How do they manage to support entire families with a minimum pension of 637 euros? María, who lost her home because she co-signed for a daughter who couldn't repay her loan, explains: "running errands in exchange for tips and taking advantage of what others throw away." One in five Moratalaz residents is a pensioner. Every Thursday, they meet at the senior center to enjoy dancing as one of their favorite leisure activities. There they debate pensions and the love affairs that arise when old age arrives. "But with or without contact?" one of them jokingly asks. Some live with their children, and others support their children. Like Valentina, who lives with two daughters, a granddaughter, and her husband, who can barely move because he's obese. Through tears, she admits that what they're going through is very hard, despite the help they receive from Caritas. Mercedes, another volunteer, visits them frequently: "In Villaverde, many elderly people couldn't survive without help," she laments. Reporteros 360 spends time with retirees of all kinds to find out how they manage to survive on a pension.