INANCE Minister Paula Cox declared in her Budget Statement for 2006/07 that her Government will continue to be creative and innovative in its pursuit of additional benefits for Bermuda's seniors.

Whilst we can agree that there is a need to be creative and innovative, the action plan has to be more creative and innovative than it has been to date under the PLP Government.

The time has come for a radical rethink on how we can assist and provide for those seniors in need.

Their problems and challenges today have been well documented in two recent reports: , produced by Fordham University in October 2004 and in Government's own report, , produced by the Department of Statistics in November 2005.

Anyone who took the time to read those two reports would know that the two recent steps which the PLP has taken ? increasing pensions by four per cent as of August 2006 and increasing the free prescription benefit in HIP by $150 a year ? hardly scratches the surface in terms of what is really required.

The question has to be asked: doesn't anyone in the PLP Government read these reports?

They clearly identify the problems and the areas in which seniors need help. They also provide a basis upon which to design a plan.

What the PLP proposes in this Budget reflects no plan. It's more of the same, small increases which, while they might sound good, a re actually less filling, because they ignore the real problems. The problems where help is really needed.

Take a look at the survey results in :

A majority of Bermuda's seniors have annual incomes under $30,000.

One quarter of younger seniors (65 to 79) and half of Bermuda's older seniors (over 80 years) have incomes under $12,000 a year.

Government pensions are the primary source of income for 28 per cent of the younger seniors and 43 per cent of older seniors.

Employee pensions serve as a source of income for 15 per cent of younger seniors and ten per cent of the older seniors.

Meanwhile, the 2005 report of the Department of Statistics, informs us that five years ago the median annual pension income for seniors was $10,928. They broke it down even further by race and gender. For whites, it was $11,309 while for blacks it was $10,702. White men led with an annual pension income of $12,755 followed by black men with $11,307. White women received a slightly higher pension than black women, $10,420 compared with $10,350.

All of us instinctively know just how far this sort of income will go: not very far ? even six years ago. For instance, and to give you some perspective, this same report also pointed out that by the year 2000 the total income for the poor was less than $35,851 a year.

On the expense side, it was noted that at the time of the 2004 Household Expenditure Survey, the average senior citizen's household spent on average a total of $1,210 a week on a broad range of goods and services which works out to be around $63,000 a year. At that time, that represented a 64 per cent increase in weekly expenditure from 1993 when seniors spent $736 per week or $38,272 a year.

In 2004, the three largest weekly expenditures for seniors were housing (47 per cent); household goods, services and supplies (13 per cent); and medical; health and personal care (11 per cent).

You don't need to be a rocket scientist to understand the significance of these facts and figures and the pace at which income is rapidly outstripped by expenses that rise at a much faster and steeper rate for seniors on fixed incomes.

A four per cent increase in Government pension is hardly the answer to this problem. The four per cent rise will only see basic pension benefits go up $31.77 per month from $794.30 per month to $826.07 per month, while maximum pensions are to be raised $14 from around $1,061 per month to about $1,075 a month.

If anything these increases are but a drop in the bucket and, in any event, such minuscule gains will be wiped out most likely by the rate of inflation alone.

But inflation isn't the only enemy here.

What the Government giveth, it also taketh away. At the same time that the PLP was putting through the four per cent increase in pensions, it also put through measures that will see a six per cent increase in hospital rates followed by an 18 per cent increase in standard health insurance premiums ? and the latter increase comes on the heels of increases of 13 and 11 per cent in the previous two years.

To top it all off, the hospital and insurance rates jump as of April 1. The increases in pensions won't come into effect until August ? three months later. The problem is deeper than the PLP appears to recognise and we believe that a far more compassionate and focused response is required.

As Government, the UBP would quickly identify the actual number of seniors who fell into that category which can only be described as "poor".

The task is not difficult. The work was begun by the Department of Statistics in its November 2005 report and we quote: "Bermuda's typical senior citizen is a 72-year-old retiree residing in a home with a median income of less than $36,000 a year, which categorises them as 'poor'."

Seniors need an advocate to help with problems such as, how to get transportation to doctors' offices and dialysis when you are physically challenged and cannot afford taxi fare. Project Action has specific hours that don't always match the needs of seniors. Thanks to Project Action for sterling work transporting seniors!

Other problems include finding money to pay a doctor up front, as many doctors will make the patient apply for and wait for the insurance which can take many months to receive.

Only being allowed two doctor's visits a year under HIP insurance.

Not being able to receive dental care if you are a needy senior, or eye glasses or a hearing aid.

Not having enough money to buy medications.

Being the victim of physical and mental abuse.

Having your house, money, valuables taken away from you by unscrupulous individuals who prey on the old and helpless.

Having unscrupulous tradesmen and professionals take advantage of them.

Seniors need legal aid to help with drawing up wills and other legal problems for which they cannot afford a lawyer.

Seniors need a caring and compassionate advocate and they need a caring, compassionate Government.

From that group, we would then identify those for whom a pension is the only source of income. These are the people who need immediate help ? and we need to come up with a way to help them bridge their daily financial challenges, that goes beyond simply telling them to go to Financial Assistance.

Until we have the numbers, we won't know what can and will work best. But we suspect that what will be needed is either some form of a supplemental pension or the introduction of a local version of Medicaid whereby their medical insurance is paid for them, or possibly, in some instances, a combination of the two.

We believe that the need to bridge the gap may be only temporary. The acute need may diminish as the benefit of the national pension scheme kicks in and future seniors begin to draw two pensions: one from their private scheme, and the other from Government ? which will make the second what it was originally intended, a supplementary pension.

this end, there will need to be some co-ordination with The Pension Commission ? established under the National Pensions Scheme (Occupational Pensions) Act of 1998, which is meant to oversee the registration of all pension plans in Bermuda and thus may be able to assist as well in getting a good grip on numbers.

There are other ways too, to assist than simply sending seniors to Financial Assistance ? and that is by helping them to capitalise on what they do have.

We know from the Government report, , that in the year 2000 seven out of ten seniors owned their own homes. These seniors are said to be asset rich but cash poor. We have no reason to believe that the number of seniors in this category is any less today than it was six years ago.

The answer for some of them may be the introduction of reverse mortgages which we in the UBP have been proposing for some time now. It's an option that could be developed and made available through the Bermuda Housing Corporation. It could provide some with a much needed source of income and obviate the need to look to the Government purse for assistance. A reverse mortgage would allow them to capitalise on the value of their home to produce additional income.

This same report, , also points the way in which Government can facilitate other solutions that will not only assist our seniors but our housing challenges.

Seniors prefer to live at home at or near their families who, in many instances, are able to prove the care and love and attention which seniors need in their golden years. Families should be encouraged to provide the extra accommodation by way of an attached or detached apartment, the construction of which should be facilitated by the use of duty free materials, a fast-track planning application and no increase in land tax for so long as the premise is occupied by a senior. Funds for the construction should also be made available by way of mortgages from the Bermuda Housing Corporation at an attractive rate.

On the other hand, the PLP Government is concentrating on building top-of-the-line residential care facilities. There is the one under way in St. George's which was originally budgeted at $12 million and is now at $25 million, and possibly counting. The Minister responsible, Patrice Minors, said during the Budget Debate that Government's plan is to do the same for the Pembroke Rest Home and Lefroy House in Somerset.

We understand the need for acute residential care and day care facilities. But one of the components of the scheme is to include assisted-living apartments for otherwise healthy seniors and we question whether Government is spending taxpayers' money wisely by going this route alone.

We think assisted living is the way to go for Bermuda's seniors and that Government should be working in conjunction with the Bermuda Housing Trust ? or any private developer for that matter ? to build complexes that assisted-living complexes. These are being developed and becoming quite popular for the growing senior populations in other countries. They also free up homes for purchase or rent for young families who are just starting out.

They are essentially self-contained apartments with all the usual facilities, including kitchens, but built in connected buildings dormitory-style. The complex would also contain a cafeteria for those who chose not to cook and common areas, including a meeting room, which can play host to any number of visiting, assisting agencies.

A support network for seniors among seniors develops thereby creating a neighbourhood that uplifts and improves the quality of life for those who might otherwise be alone. One of the added features would also be a minibus service which transports residents into and out of town and to other shops and places they might wish to visit, which service could help ease not only their transportation problems but those of Bermuda generally.