Coming Out of Retirement to Cover Bills, Including Increased Xcel Charges

Patricia Mills Sanchez is 75 years old. She went back to work about a year ago because she and her husband, who is a Vietnam veteran, needed extra money to cover their rising cost of living, including increased medical expenses and also rising property taxes and utility bills.

“Everything’s going up, and our income is not,” Mills Sanchez says. “Since I got a job, it hasn’t been too bad. … We don’t qualify for any kind of help. We struggled to make sure we could make the gas and electric payment. Neither one of us wants to keep our thermostat set at 68 degrees, because we’re both cold all the time, so we keep our thermostat set at 70, and we know we’re going to have to pay the price for that.”

Mills Sanchez retired from Lockheed Martin with a pension after a 45-year career…