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Implications of a ‘Chained’ CPI

September 28, 2011
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Issue Brief by Alicia H. Munnell and William M. Hisey

The brief’s key findings are:

  • Recent commissions have proposed a “chained” consumer price index to adjust Social Security benefits.
  • The chained index, which allows spending patterns to shift as prices change, would rise more slowly than the current index.
  • But the current index likely understates the inflation faced by the elderly, and the low-income elderly may have little flexibility.
  • An alternative way for current retirees to bear some of the burden of a Social Security fix would be a one-time delay in the inflation adjustment.
Their finances are in the green
Their finances are in the green
Author(s)
Headshot of Alicia H. Munnell
Alicia H. Munnell
Headshot of William M. Hisey
William M. Hisey
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Munnell, Alicia H. and William M. Hisey. 2011. "Implications of a 'Chained' CPI" Issue in Brief 11-12. Chestnut Hill, MA: Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.

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Topics
Social Security
Publication Type
Issue Brief
Publication Number
IB#11-12
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