2015-10-15washingtonpost.com

Groups that advocate for retirees have long complained that CPI is a poor measure for Social Security benefits. People who are working have different spending patterns than retirees, they argue, driving less and spending more on health care and long-term care, where prices rise faster, and less on others things whose prices rise more slowly. Advocates favor using what's called the CPI-E (E for elderly), which attempts to take into account the different spending patters for retirees.

"The government needs a new approach -- one that recognizes the reality of rising costs in many areas, especially health care, that are putting pressure on American seniors," Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) said in a statement. He has introduced a bill that would amend current law by requiring the use of the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly rather than the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, when calculating annual cost of living adjustments for people on Social Security.



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