SAN ANTONIO- The City of San Antonio is seeing a rise in retirees. We checked in with local officials on the level of preparedness to care for those 65 and up on the city and county level.
The senior population in San Antonio is expected to grow by 40% by 2040 that’s an additional 464,000 people. We spoke with District 9 Councilman John Courage who says there are about 11 comprehensive senior centers across the city.
“The responsibility falls on this current city government and future governments to provide as much as we can for their support and their needs and their continued health and success for the rest of their lives,” says District 9 San Antonio Councilman John Courage.
We caught up with Councilman Courage at Walker Ranch Senior Center. He says 35% of his district is made up of retirees.
“I don’t care if you’re 60, 70, or 80 , you may still have many more good years to live , and you deserve to live those with your friends and your neighbors and in comfort and in health and safety and that’s what the city works to provide for our senior citizens,” says Councilman Courage.
The US Census Bureau says San Antonio’s retirement aging population is the fastest growing in the city increasing more than 11% from 2020 to 2023.
“We have seen a surge in caregiver support requests and income support requests,” says Senior Dir. with the Alamo Area Council of Governments William McKnight.
He adds a good portion of the retirees moving into the area are retired from the military. While they provide a stable and good retirement income stream, the challenge is the increase in the cost of living. It’s risen 5% in Texas and McKnight says that’s tough on anyone living on a fixed income.
“If I’m retired and I’m not working, and I have no other forms of employment I have one fixed salary that I’m using. The money is not worth what it once was,” says McKnight.
This is a snapshot of combined federal and state funding for both Bexar County and the Alamo city from 2019 to 2024. Funding was highest during COVID, 2020 to 2021, but funding is now dropping. McKnight says money at the state and federal level is key to taking care of our aging population with services such as finding affordable housing or helping pay their utility bills.
“We’re seeing changes in funding, funding has decreased in a lot of ways, so this is going to be a reoccurring challenge,” says McKnight.
A challenge that lawmakers at the federal and state level will have to deal with for future years to come.
