Want
to stimulate the Eeconomy? Give Seniors a
fair COLA, RetireSafe says...Group
launches new tool to give America's biggest
spenders more buying power
RESTON, Va., Jan. 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/
-- Today, RetireSafe unveiled the first and
only online cost of living adjustment (COLA)
calculator designed to put money where it is
needed and will be spent immediately: in the
pocketbooks of seniors.
The Fair COLA Calculator, a comparison tool
for calculating annual Social Security cost
of living adjustments, represents a change
in the way retirees' annual cost of living
adjustments would be calculated.
"This change can help boost the economy, and
help seniors pay their bills. With the
government spending trillions on righting
the economy, the RetireSafe Fair COLA
Calculator shows an easy fix.
"And
it is a fair fix for both seniors and the
economy," says Michelle Plasari, President
of RetireSafe.
To achieve a fair COLA, RetireSafe
recommends that the government use a fair
formula for calculating annual
cost-of-living adjustments. The current
annual Social Security COLA is based on the
CPI-W, an index designed to track the
spending of younger urban professionals.
It doesn't account for the increased costs
seniors face each month on items such as
health care and medicines.
The government does in fact track an
experimental CPI-E that more accurately
weighs the spending patterns of seniors. In
most years, the CPI-E is higher.
In these unstable economic times, RetireSafe
believes Social Security COLAs should be
based on which ever index is higher in a
particular year, so seniors will have more
to spend.
To demonstrate these differences, RetireSafe
has developed an online calculator which
compares what COLAs would be if based on the
CPI-E versus the current indexing.
This tool allows seniors and those
approaching retirement to find out what they
would have gotten or would get in the future
if their increase is figured using a fair
and realistic method.
Said Plasari, "We want seniors to use the
Fair COLA calculator and then ask the Obama
administration and Congress if they are
serious about stimulating the economy, why
not bring the COLA in line with realistic
needs?
"And
if the emphasis is on stimulating the
economy, why not put money where it is
needed and will be spent immediately: in the
hands of seniors."
According to RetireSafe, seniors could be
one of America's greatest resources for
stimulating the economy. Unlike other
demographic groups, seniors are not as
concerned about acquiring additional savings
or investments. They are consumers. They
spend.
Said Plasari, "We believe the best way to
stimulate economy is to put money where it
will do the most good for the economy and
for its senior
"As
Americans live longer and spend more years
in retirement, their Social Security
benefits become increasingly less adequate
to cover their living costs.
"Even seniors, who retire with an average
benefit today, could risk living in poverty
15 or 20 years from today, especially as
Medicare and other health care costs take
increasing portion of their Social Security
benefits."
RetireSafe urges Congress to act quickly, as
part of the pending economic stimulus
package, to finally give seniors a fair
annual COLA that helps stimulate the economy
and helps seniors keep up with their ever
rising cost of living.
To view RetireSafe's Fair COLA Calculator
visit
www.RetireSafe.org/cola_calculator.html.
RetireSafe is a grassroots advocacy
organization promoting dynamic solutions to
America's retirement security challenges and
dedicated to preserving and enhancing the
options, benefits, and lives of older
Americans.
Source:
RetireSafe
