Benefits
After Her Husband Died, Patricia Lost His Social Security Income — How a Pittsburgh Retiree Is Coping on $1,800 a Month
The kitchen table at Patricia Novak’s house in Pittsburgh’s South Hills neighborhood is covered in…
social security survivor benefits
7 articles
Benefits
She Worked 32 Years for USPS and Still Can’t Afford a New Roof — Patricia Novak’s Fight to Stretch a Fixed Income
The coupon binder was the first thing I noticed when I walked into Patricia Novak’s…
Benefits
A Pittsburgh Widow on a Fixed Pension Discovered Thousands in Relief She Almost Never Claimed
Roughly 14.7 million Americans over age 65 live on annual incomes below $25,000, according to…
Benefits
She Lost $1,190 a Month When Her Husband Died. Three Years Later, Patricia Found Out She’d Been Leaving Benefits Unclaimed
Patricia Novak was at her kitchen table in Pittsburgh’s Beechview neighborhood, a stack of grocery…
Benefits
She Delivered Mail for 32 Years — Now at 65, She’s Choosing Between a New Roof and Her Medical Savings
Patricia Novak’s kitchen table had a yellow legal pad on it covered in handwritten numbers.…
Analysis
She Left Her Corporate Job to Teach Yoga — Then Realized Her Family Had No Safety Net at All
The coffee shop where I met Grace Nakamura was the kind of place that sells…
Benefits
Grace Nakamura Earns $18K a Year and Her Partner Carries Everything — What Social Security Would Actually Pay Her Daughter
Approximately 33 million Americans are self-employed or work part-time without access to employer-sponsored disability or…