MP George Scott cannot be entirely blamed for wanting the whole problem of giving financial stability to senior citizens to go away. But suggesting that they find cheaper countries in which to live isn't the answer.

In fact, many older Bermudians are having to do just that already. That is not something the community should be encouraging or happy about ? we should be deeply ashamed instead.

Senior citizens have dedicated their lives to making Bermuda a better place. That their reward should be the suggestion that they move to Costa Rica, as Mr. Scott said, is reprehensible.

The community should be ensuring that senior citizens enjoy a comfortable and happy retirement. Instead the reality is that too many senior citizens spend their "golden years" choosing between buying food or buying the medication they need. That cannot be right.

Still, Mr. Scott's solution, for want of a better word, shows how intractable the problem is. It is much easier to throw your hands up and say "go and live somewhere else" than to find solutions that will inevitably end up being unpalatable to someone.

It can be argued that seniors only have themselves to blame because they failed to save enough while they were working to to secure their retirements. But few could have predicted that rents would have soared as they have in the last few years, or that the cost of health care would be outpacing the rate of inflation by multiples of three or four. And it is not in the Bermuda community's nature to turn its back on people in need.

So the responsibility falls back on the community, and the Government, to raise pensions to the point that senior citizens can have a restful retirement instead of a stressful one.

However, the money for this has to come from somewhere, and that means that Government will have to bite the bullet and do what it has so far been unwilling to do; raise taxes in order to raise the current pension level and and raise the percentage of wages and salaries that goes to the Government pension scheme to put the Contributory Pension Fund on a sound financial footing.

That's not just something that has to be done for the current generation of pensioners. With the baby boomer generation speeding towards retirement, this is a problem which is going to get worse, not better, as more people enter retirement ? and then live longer.

This is already a problem for the Public Service Superannuation Fund, which provides pensions for civil servants. In 2002 it took in less money in contributions than it paid out in pensions. Assuming that returns on the fund's investments don't increase by more than the shortfall, the fund will eventually go bankrupt.

The former United Bermuda Party government made private pension schemes mandatory for every working person in order to bridge the gap between the penurious Government pension and a retirement income that constituted a liveable wage.

But this requirement only came into effect in 2000, and for many contributors it will be too little, too late.

At present, the mandatory contribution is five percent of the employee's salary, which is then matched by the employer. To ensure that there is adequate money for a pension, consideration should be given to raising the employee's contribution.

Then too, finding ways to control the rise in health care costs is essential as well. This should be the first task of the Bermuda Health Council, which is now being formed.

There are other alternatives as well, and it is fair to say that senior citizens do get benefits from virtually free hospital beds to free public transport already. Solving the problem is possible ? and a much better alternative than telling senior citizens to leave the land of their birth.