Teresa Chan, 74, Keeps Working in San Francisco After 30 Years as Savings Fall Short
Updated
Updated · KQED · May 26
Teresa Chan, 74, Keeps Working in San Francisco After 30 Years as Savings Fall Short
1 articles · Updated · KQED · May 26
Teresa Chan, 74, is still working in San Francisco because she says she lacks enough retirement savings to live without a regular paycheck.
More than 30 years in administrative jobs — most recently a remote data-entry role — did not leave her with money to save after covering rent and healthcare for herself and her family.
Social Security, which Chan began collecting at 66, has not been enough to replace earned income, and she said she never had the means to buy a home.
Her story is part of KQED's How We Get By series on how Bay Area and California residents are coping with persistently high living costs.
As costs soar past wages, is the dream of a comfortable retirement in major US cities now impossible for most?
With Social Security's future uncertain, are small homes and co-living the new reality for urban retirees?
California plans a $10B housing bond, but can state policies truly fix a crisis decades in the making?