What does the CPI-W measure?
Currently there are two common consumer price indexes (CPI) published monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics at the Department of Labor. The CPI-U tracks changes in the prices of goods and services purchased by typical urban wage earners and clerical workers. While the CPI-U is the number that is most often associated with cost of living increases, the Social Security COLA is determined by the CPI-W. There is concern that the CPI-W does not accurately reflect the inflation experience of the elderly population because the prices of items commonly needed by seniors, including health care, are rising faster than overall prices. Some have suggested that the COLA rely instead on the CPI-U, but this number still doesn’t reflect the specific goods and services needed by seniors. In an effort to protect the purchasing power of Social Security benefits, an experimental senior-only consumer price index is being studied by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Consumer Price Index for the Elderl
