Chart: Share of the elderly age 70 to 75 at various income-to-supplemental-poverty-threshold ratios under the current Social Security COLA index and an estimated chained-CPI index, 2009–2011 average

Figure L

Share of the elderly age 70 to 75 at various income-to-supplemental-poverty-threshold ratios under the current Social Security COLA index and an estimated chained-CPI index, 2009–2011 average

Note: SPM refers to the Supplemental Poverty Measure. The current cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to Social Security benefits uses the consumer price index (CPI) for wage earners. Tying the COLA to a "chained" CPI would lead to smaller COLAs.

Source: Authors' analysis of pooled 2009–2011 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement microdata

This chart appears in:

Financial Security of Elderly Americans at Risk: Proposed changes to Social Security and Medicare could make a majority of seniors ‘economically vulnerable’

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