How does inflation affect older workers?
A number of years ago, the Bureau of Labor Statistics created an experimental consumer price index (CPI) for Americans 62 years of age and older. In this index, items purchased more frequently by the older population, such as medical care, have a higher weight than in the official CPI (which covers a much broader share of the population); items purchased less frequently, such as clothing, have a lower weight. Data from the experimental series show that the annual inflation rate for seniors has been equal to or greater than the inflation rate for all urban consumers in every year since that series began except for 1983 and 2007. However, the yearly differences have been fairly small; over the past 25 years the index for older Americans has risen an average of 3.3 percent each year, as compared to 3.1 percent for the official CPI. Editor’s Note: A major impact of senior citizens related to inflation is the annual increase in Social Security benefits known as COLA – the cost-of-living adj
