Once you turn 50, you probably think that you have life figured out. But then suddenly, things you’ve used forever start acting up, or worse, they disappear altogether. You could be refilling your prescriptions like normal one minute, and the next, you’re arguing with a robot that insists you need an app. Just what’s going on? Here are ten things that may be getting worse for consumers over 50 years old. Which one do you think is the worst?
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Airline Seats Are Shrinking
Flying used to be cramped, but it’s become even worse these days, especially if you have joint pain or arthritis. That tiny seat feels like a punishment. Not only do we have less legroom, but tray tables are smaller and armrests are tighter. You shouldn’t expect any help unless you’ve paid extra for “comfort,” and even asking for a seat with more space feels more challenging than it should be. Pay up, or you’re stuck.
Groceries Are Designed For Smaller Households
If you look around the grocery aisle, you’ll notice that family-sized anything is disappearing and everything is now snack packs or single-serve. That’s not great if you have adult kids visiting, or just don’t want to shop every three days. Good luck finding the old-school, mega-sized options without driving to a warehouse store. And even then, those stores usually have more trendy health snacks or pre-made kits than big bags of pantry items.
Car Insurance Prices Increase After 65
After you turn 65, the cost of your car insurance will almost definitely increase, even if you’ve been driving better than most 30-year-olds. Some companies assume your age makes you a more dangerous driver, and they’ll include this ageism right into your rates. It really doesn’t matter if you haven’t had a single accident in decades or how often you drive. It’s the number in your birth year that does all the talking.
Paper Billing Is Slowly Disappearing
Most 50-year-olds prefer seeing their bills in a nice stack rather than online, but it turns out that many companies don’t care. They’ve started phasing out paper billing entirely, or they’ll charge you for the “privilege.” If you miss a payment because it got buried in your inbox, they still charge a late fee, and companies will push you through two pages of settings to find the “mail me” option. And that’s if it’s even still there.
Prescription Refill Systems Rely on Apps
It’s no secret that older people tend to take more medication than younger people, yet pharmacies don’t make it any easier for them. Whenever you’re low on medicine, you might expect a human to help you at the pharmacy. Nope. They point to a screen and tell you to “download the app.” Some stores barely let you refill anything without clicking around on your own, and you can forget talking to a pharmacist during busy hours because they’re too preoccupied with scanning barcodes & printing out labels.
Medication Packaging Is Getting Harder to Open
Speaking of medication, nobody’s expecting the bottles to open themselves, but seriously, why do so many of them feel glued shut? Older people’s hands don’t work like they used to, and that makes opening a new prescription bottle more challenging than it needs to be. Some pain creams now come in twist tubes that lock after one use, while others are in those annoying blister packs that need scissors. Of course, you could ask for an “easy open” cap, but who wants to do that every single time?
Doctor’s Offices Push Online Portals
It used to be that you’d just call your doctor and talk to a receptionist to get things sorted. However, these days, they’ll tell you to use the online portal, and if you call anyway, half the time they make you go back online anyway. It’s frustrating when you’d rather speak to someone and get it done in two minutes. Whether it’s test results or follow-ups, they all get posted online now. It’s just not fair.
Chatbots Replacing Customer Service Numbers
Whenever you call a company just to ask a basic question, you’ll probably end up arguing with a chatbot instead, and that’s a real problem for people over 50. Most people in this age group are used to real conversations with real people, so it’s just plain annoying. You’re stuck looping through menus on the phone, and once you finally reach a human, they’ll read off the same script the chatbot just gave you. What a waste of time.
Businesses Phasing Out AARP Discounts
Once upon a time, you’d just flash your AARP card to get a discount. It’s not that way anymore. Some restaurants or stores stopped offering it, while others leave it off the signs altogether, and unless you bring it up, you may not get a discount. You might not even be able to get a discount without being on a membership tier or purchasing a store-specific program, so it’s no longer as simple as showing your card. You have to do the homework first.
Retirement Advice Is Moving Online Only
Trying to get help with retirement options, such as those extra catch-up contributions once you hit 50, has also become harder. A lot of financial companies have pulled their in-person and phone help, meaning you have to log in and read through PDFs for advice. You might wait days for someone to reply, only to get a link to another article that doesn’t help. Meanwhile, the deadlines & decisions don’t pause while you try to figure it out.
Which problem do you think is the worst?
Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.
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