ne Ch = LEAGUES 1) ms Ss CPI New “note Will Cut COLAs (NAPSA)—Arecent series of changes to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) will cut Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLAs) for seniors, according to new studies by TREA Senior Citizens League (TSCL). — COL, Changes in the Consumer Price Index may negatively affect seniors’ Social Security benefits. “A Social Security recipient getting $874 per month in 2002 would effectively see his or her benefit cut by $5,356 over the next 10 years,” says George Smith, Chairman of The Senior Citizens League. According to government economists, the changes are necessary to improve the accuracy of the CPI. The CPI is used to determine the size of COLAs for Social Security and military benefits as well as government payments to about 80 million people. “Seniors would receive a more fair COLA,” says Smith, “if the annual adjustment were tied to a CPI that more accurately surveyed senior costs, such as the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-E). We urge seniors to write to their members of Congress to explain how important it is that their COLAs keep pace with rising health insurance andprescription drug costs.” For more information on this issue and TSCL, write to: TREA Senior Citizens League, Department N20101, 909 N. Washington St., Suite 300, Alexandria, VA 22314, or visit the Web site at www.tscl.org.
