MORE than half Bermuda's senior citizens are living below the bread line, regularly forced to choose whether their monthly pension will go towards food, rent or prescribed medication.

A meeting with a group of retirees aged 65 and older yielded that opinion and other harrowing tales ? plastic bags stuffed inside handbags so food might be taken home for the next day's meal, pensions barely able to cover basic insurance, and diets where sardines, tea and toast feature as breakfast, lunch and dinner staples.

But the greatest insult, they believe, is that while little is done to improve their circumstances, millions of Government dollars are made available for more fast ferries and an as-yet-unfinished mega-school.

"If I didn't own a house, I don't know how I would pay rent," said Myra Durrant, a semi-retired nurse. "Living in Bermuda is wonderful. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else, but . . ."

Insurance, she admitted, is a problem ? $225.55 for a major medical plan which obviously had not been designed with seniors in mind.

"It's crazy," she said. "We have the basics, but we're also covered for maternity. How many women over the age of 55 are going to need maternity insurance? Why not put that towards our glasses or our teeth?

"It covers our visits for eye examinations but doesn't provide for glasses. They pay for dentist cleanings but not for extractions or any of the many problems seniors have with teeth."

Mrs. Durrant admitted she took early retirement and would have continued working as long as she could if she had known how difficult it would be financially. Still, she says, she has it far better than many.

"I don't have it that easy, but I have sisters, brothers, I have two daughters and one grandson. I can always go to them for a tuna sandwich or a cup of tea."

She said she had been told by several people how they stuffed plastic bags inside their handbags to fill with food so they might be able to eat the following day. While many asked their host first, embarrassment prohibited others from being as polite.

"A lot depend on senior citizens' lunches and so on," Mrs. Durrant explained.

A 73-year-old senior was quick to agree. And he said it was upsetting that Government is not giving more to those who had spent their lives helping the island's development.

"They keep saying they will do something for seniors but they're not consistent. And at the end of the day, they're not doing anything. We have plenty of senior clubs, but they need to be better organised. We need regular classes ? exercises, crafts ? scheduled.

"Admiralty House offers some programmes but it's not big enough. We need a proper Government-funded social centre for seniors. Somewhere that can offer social programmes, that can provide low-cost lunches, somewhere for us.

"It's so sad. Bermuda is one of the world's richest countries. We don't need all those fast ferry boats. We didn't need a mega-school that's costing us millions of dollars. More money should be set aside for the people who built Bermuda."

At present, he said, "there is nothing for us to look forward to. Our daily decisions come down to whether our money will be spent on food, medical bills or rent. As seniors, we should have discounts. The majority of seniors are struggling on $300 a month."

A different point of view was offered by a 76-year-old former driving instructor.

"I'm damn lucky and I realise that," he said. "I've read newspaper articles about people who rent and I'm fortunate I'm not in that circumstance but I prepared for my retirement. I worked hard. I saved and I invested my money. I think too many of us expect someone else to take care of us. What you work for, is yours.

"There is always room for improvement. No Government is ever doing enough. But I do think Government has a responsibility to deal with people who find themselves in a situation where they have to live on $300 a month."